Overview
Date
October 2021 - July 2022
Skills
UI/UX Design, Product Design
Software
Figma, Miro, Webflow, Qualtrics
Grade
1st
"The results indicated the perceived positive effects from GPs of integrating an intervention to encourage GPs to take short breaks. Applications of mindfulness were beneficial to all GPs who had access to the intervention, highlighting potential opportunities for future development and testing of the intervention in a GP practice."
What is Pause O'Clock?
Pause O'Clock is the name of an intervention, designed to better integrate breaks into GP consultations through methods of mindfulness to reduce stress.
General Practitioners are often the first point of contact for the general population relating to most health-related issues, providing comprehensive support and care to help diagnose acute or chronic problems. They are particularly exposed to high levels of stress and an increasing level of burnout, heightened by the 20% increase in workload and further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Breaks are essential in managing the stress levels of GPs within practices. On average, 77% of GPs avoid taking breaks during a four-hour clinical session, with a further 28% working full days without breaks. Affecting over 2 in 3 GP practices, the lack of support measures to integrate timetabled breaks into GPs’ daily routines has resulted in almost half of GPs intending to leave their practice for a more sustainable career
This is where Pause O'Clock comes in.
The intervention consists of 3 main features:
To encourage GPs to take a break, nudge theory and JITAI methods were implemented to allow more frequent reminders within a consultation. It was highly important that these nudges acted non-forcefully and integrated into GP's timetables, with a method of disabling the nudges to help reduce digital overload and distraction.
By designing an activity centre that GPs could select a break from, the hesitation regarding what the GPs could do to relax would be simplified
Studies have also shown how individuals react differently to stressors, especially when the stressor type is relevant to the personality style. It is therefore important to create a system that can be customisable to suit an individual’s needs, considering the controllability of nudges and activities, as well as data sharing and methods of integration.
From semi-structured interviews and a review of the intervention from 15 different stakeholders, including GPs, medical students who have worked with GPs, wellbeing advisors, and medical specialists, the intervention was reviewed to test its acceptability and usability.
25 UK-Based GPs that met the selection criteria outlined in the method participated in the evaluative questionnaire. The average Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) score was 3.70, indicating the above-average acceptability of the intervention. Pause O’Clock yielded a SUS score of 91.7 (85, 95, 95) seen in Appendix B, which lies in the upper ‘A’ region, a score where users are more likely to be recommending the product to friends. This places Pause O’Clock in the top 10% percentile for intervention usability.
Demo Video
Pause O'Clock Demo Video - Ethan Chow (2022)
