Connect cancer patient intelligently to community-based organizations in real time

Project under NDA

Due to confidentiality, some visuals and data have been modified while preserving the design process and outcomes.

Role

Product Designer

Research assistant

Team

1x CTO

2x Designers

Impact

Secured a $1M+ grant

Driving 3× annual traffic

Achieved 80% organic growth

Context

Three simple views. One shared story.

ConnectedNest is a cancer patient-led, HIPAA-compliant platform that connects real-world needs with accountable partners. Our design brings patients, community-based organizations (CBOs), and oncology care teams into a unified workflow, where identified needs are matched and acknowledged within 48 hours.

As the founding designer, I led the usability testing and translated the multi-stakeholder healthcare ecosystem into three coordinated interfaces that function as a single accountable system. I led the design of EmpowerNest, the mobile experience for patients and caregivers, and co-designed CommunityNest, the desktop platform for community partners.

Design research

Understanding the needs:
interview with patients and caregiver

Following the clinical pilot, I recruited cancer patients and caregivers from a university clinic, local cancer organizations, and nonprofit community cancer partners that provide support services. I conducted qualitative research to validate user needs and workflow assumptions, including 3 in-depth interviews with individual caregivers and 2 focus groups with caregivers and their patients.

Information Architecture

Cross-role navigation & service pathways

To demonstrate the system design, we mapped the end-to-end referral and service access workflows across stakeholders. These flows illustrate how the platform operationalizes accountability across patients, caregivers, community partners, and clinical teams within a unified system.

Referral flow

Iteration

Low-Fi prototype

The mobile application EmpowerNest is designed for both caregivers and patients, including scenarios where a patient may also take on a caregiving role. I created a dedicated user flow to define what users see and experience when using the product and iterated the mockup based on the flow.

We decided to consolidate all patient interfaces under a single caregiver account to make it easier for caregivers to manage messages and coordination.

I also co-designed CommunityNest, a web platform designed for community partners and staff to review and approve patient and caregiver eligibility for resources provided by nonprofit cancer support organizations.

Final design

Patient-led. Privacy-aware. Community-powered.

Our design streamlines cancer care coordination by connecting patients, caregivers, and community partners through centralized communication and structured referral workflows. It consolidates patient management under caregiver accounts, supports dual-role users, and enables secure eligibility review and resource approval across support organizations.