A project named “Information design for diagnostics”, was initiated by a multidisciplinary team, of which Prof Sue Walker, Dr Al Edwards, Julie Hart, Dr Josefina Bravo, Dr Sarah Needs, Gemma Little and Fraser Muggeridge studio are members, with joint expertise in user-centred health communication and rapid test technology. This project is a COVID-19 Rapid Response project and is funded by the AHRC.

What are they doing?

It is important to provide clear instructions for the users in order to understand how to do the test. Therefore, the team is co-designing the instructions and evaluate the effectiveness of their design prototypes, which ensures confidence and accuracy, thereby optimizing the use of LFT in mass community testing.

Initially, they looked at blood testing as the pilot study and are now developing it to tackle swab testing in the context of community mass testing. They are also evaluating the usability of instructions and device through remote participant observation, questionnaires, and receiving qualitative feedback from end-users to gather impressions on prototypes.

Work to date

Their work to date has involved designing instructions for home testing, where fingerstick blood is sent to central laboratories; and for tests using conventional lateral flow rapid tests.

Check the link for more information:

Design Research for Testing Diagnostics