A 3-minute health intervention.
Fitwits, the brainchild of my teacher Kristin Hughes, is a program designed to teach children and families about nutrition and healthy eating habits by facilitating discussions in the home, classroom, and doctor's office. I worked with Kristin in the development of the doctor's office portion of Fitwits, deemed "Fitwits M.D." I worked with UPMC doctors Ann McGaffey and Susan Fiddler to closely observe interactions between doctors and young patients, especially when dealing with the subject of weight and nutrition.
From this research came a set of large cards that use the Fitwits characters (illustration credit: Nathan Mazur) to explain concepts like Body Mass Index, portion control, and healthy habits. The cards are meant to assist doctors in breaching these difficult topics with patients.
Researching with doctors from UPMC to find out what concepts they find the most important to convey to patients and the information they want patients to understand. I conducted a participatory design session at CMU with 10-12 doctors to help them brainstorm and discuss these topics amongst their collegues.
Early sketches of the prototype.
Testing the prototype at a UPMC clinic with children.