Get NHS advice about COVID-19
As the lead designer for COVID-19 information on the NHS website (nhs.uk/covid), I was responsible for supporting the government in their efforts to help users identify COVID symptoms, get necessary help, self-isolate, get tested, get a vaccination, and get a COVID pass during the pandemic.
SITUATION
As the lead service designer for COVID-19 information on the NHS website (nhs.uk/covid), I was responsible for supporting the government in their efforts to help users identify COVID symptoms, get necessary help, self-isolate, get tested, get a vaccination, and get a COVID pass during the pandemic (2020-2021).
This was a new, rapidly changing topic area and stakeholders including the Prime Minister, Chief Medical Officer, Government, Test & Trace, DHSC, and PHE.
TASK
My task was to distill evolving government information, policy, and services into a health context along with uncovering and stay on top of changing user needs.
I supported the team to develop and implement an information architecture for COVID-19 that could support a quickly evolving topic area, working with colleagues across the NHS, Test and Trace, Government, and charities to align user journeys.
My goal was to ensure that users were able to easily find the information, services, and help they needed.
ACTION
To accomplish these goals I worked with policy and clinical teams to stay ahead of potential future scenarios, service needs, and information needs.
I created a framework to keep track of emerging user needs and analytics. This included engagement and communication with stakeholders, and leading information architecture user testing against future states, using methods such as card sorting, tree tests, and first click tests.
RESULT
The result of these efforts was the successful launch of www.nhs.uk/coronavirus which was a key platform in the NHS's response to the pandemic.
The website had an estimated 803 million visits in 2021, with the number of users peaking at 120 million in March 2020 (the highest ever) and again at 81 million in September 2020. There have been 160 million direct visits to the coronavirus hub landing page since the end of January 2020.
The information, guidance and links to services (isolation note, book a vaccine) helped slow the spread of the virus as well as support the vaccine roll out.
CONTACT
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