During health crises, public health agencies lose nearly half of their critical response time due to communication gaps with diverse populations. Inspired by the immediacy and clarity of Amber Alerts, I explored how targeted UX interventions could close communication gaps and reduce misinformation, impacting over 345 million users.
ROLE
UX Researcher
TEAM
Solo
DURATION
72 Hours
TOOLS
Miro, Notion, Google Docs & Sheets, Canva, Voice Memos, Paper & Pencil
DELIVERABLES
Research Plan, Behavioral Insights, Strategic UX Recommendations
The Problem
Public health agencies rapidly broadcast alerts during crises. But effectively reaching diverse populations across geographical, cultural, and language barriers remains challenging. This issue delays the allocation of lifesaving resources and hampers emergency response effectiveness.
User Research
To rapidly identify and understand users core pain points during health crises, I utilized lean UX research methods fitting the 72-hour hackathon timeline:
Rapid User Interviews
Rapidly uncovered emotional and operational pain points in real-time
Affinity Mapping
Grouped user frustrations into thematic patterns to surface actionable insights
Friction Analysis
Identified and prioritized barriers hindering citizen-agency interactions
I translated these interview insights into a structured thematic map.
By applying the Hierarchy of User Friction framework, I prioritized user concerns from surface interaction issues through deeper cognitive (information overload) to emotional friction (anxiety, trust issues).
Key Insights
Design Strategy
Project Outcome
Decentralization unlocks clearer, human-centered design
Initially, a centralized solution appeared optimal for streamlined communications. However, deeper reflection uncovered significant scalability and reliability risks. This prompted me to explore decentralization as a superior alternative, aiming for greater resilience, adaptability, and community engagement.
To implement decentralization effectively, I recommended these three key features:
To objectively assess these decentralized recommendations, I conducted rapid concept testing with target users. Findings indicated notable strengths in information relevance, decision clarity, and overall reliability, supporting decentralization as an effective and resilient solution.
Target Users
Relevant Information
Aggregated Reliability Score
- Frank Chimero
While centralized systems appeared simpler for addressing health emergency challenges, deeper analysis of user experiences uncovered critical insights. My biggest ‘aha’ moment came when closely listening to user stories and systematically mapping their pain points, revealing that decentralized approaches effectively reduced emotional friction, notably anxiety and confusion.
By deeply exploring the unique challenges of two distinct user groups, I learned that impactful UX involves thoughtfully untangling complexity to achieve intentional design clarity.
Designing AI-Driven UX Solutions Recognized for Real-World Public Health Impact
Next project:
Sage Spark AI
Mixed-methods research and the AI data programs behind it.
© 2026 Gurusha Raskar · MBA in Marketing · M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction, AI specialization