Designing a wellbeing web app with Southwark residents
Southwark Council commissioned Healum to design, prototype and test a web app that helps residents find local health and wellbeing support.
The project
What we did
Design, prototype and testing, reported to the council.
2 years†
of discovery work before design
3
concepts designed
2
rounds of resident testing
I think this would be a great way for me to break through the fluff and find something local.
The challenge
Discovery work with the community found 3 problems: residents struggled to find the council’s health and wellbeing services, little behaviour change support matched where people are, and health information lacked relevance and trust for many communities.
What we designed
Healum designed a mobile-first web app, building on discovery research by Southwark Council and Commuzi. It explored 3 concepts:
- Personal support: questions that match people to services and stories
- Community: stories from local role models
- Feedback: SMS prompts for motivation and check-ins
What residents told us
We tested the prototype in 2 rounds with residents from diverse ethnic backgrounds. They told us:
- It’s hard to know where to find wellbeing support
- Stories from local role models are motivating
- The service must connect to real people
What we recommended
Healum recommended a resident dashboard, a triage and signposting plugin for council websites, a library of local stories, wider testing and a pilot in one area. The work is open source, so other councils can build on it and test it with 50 to 100† residents.
Could this work for your council?
Want residents’ stories to help others make healthier choices? We’ll show you how.