Client
Gillvray Health is a UK-based healthcare provider focused on holistic and long-term chronic disease management, integrating lifestyle medicine with traditional care to improve patient outcomes.
Gillvray Health is a UK-based healthcare provider focused on holistic and long-term chronic disease management, integrating lifestyle medicine with traditional care to improve patient outcomes.
Challange
Chronic disease patients often struggle to achieve better health despite standard medical care. A holistic approach that combines lifestyle and behavioral changes with conventional treatments is critical. NHS doctors face significant time limitations, restricting their ability to guide patients through sustainable health improvements, while private healthcare alternatives are often prohibitively expensive.
Chronic disease patients often struggle to achieve better health despite standard medical care. A holistic approach that combines lifestyle and behavioral changes with conventional treatments is critical. NHS doctors face significant time limitations, restricting their ability to guide patients through sustainable health improvements, while private healthcare alternatives are often prohibitively expensive.
Solution
In collaboration with Gillvray Health, I designed Cara (Irish for "trusted ally"), a patient-centric app offering personalized, ongoing support. Cara is based on behavioural sciences and helps patients build sustainable habits to better manage chronic conditions complementary to Gillvray Health’s treatment programs.
In collaboration with Gillvray Health, I designed Cara (Irish for "trusted ally"), a patient-centric app offering personalized, ongoing support. Cara is based on behavioural sciences and helps patients build sustainable habits to better manage chronic conditions complementary to Gillvray Health’s treatment programs.
The app bridges the gap between patients and doctors enabling physicians to set initial treatment plans and monitor real-time patient data, while providing personal, continuous support to patients. This dual model promotes lasting behavioural change through patient accountability, improves doctor-patient engagement, and reduces costs compared to private healthcare options.
Driving Sustainable Behaviour Change
Cara’s design is rooted in behavioural science and created in collaboration with psychologists and physicians. It emphasises personalisation and taps into users’ intrinsic motivations. Our research informed nuanced feedback loops, CST-based gradual goal-setting, progress tracking, and tailored nudges.
Cara’s design is rooted in behavioural science and created in collaboration with psychologists and physicians. It emphasises personalisation and taps into users’ intrinsic motivations. Our research informed nuanced feedback loops, CST-based gradual goal-setting, progress tracking, and tailored nudges.
Behavioural audits enabled us to balance self-accountability with guidance to foster long-term behavioral change. By addressing ability blockers and identifying intervention opportunities, the app effectively supports patients while remaining feasible for healthcare providers.
Behavioural Audits
Feature Mapping
Features
Scaling Up Positive Impact
Cara successfully completed a 12-week pilot with a diabetes-focused group, demonstrating its potential to drive meaningful improvements in chronic disease management. The next step involves establishing a framework to measure Cara’s long-term health impact and patient satisfaction, ensuring continued refinement and scalability of the platform.
Cara successfully completed a 12-week pilot with a diabetes-focused group, demonstrating its potential to drive meaningful improvements in chronic disease management. The next step involves establishing a framework to measure Cara’s long-term health impact and patient satisfaction, ensuring continued refinement and scalability of the platform.
