Personas Development using Data from Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Sankar, Gaayathri

Etd

Personas Development using Data from Electronic Health Records (EHR)

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Grounded in the User Experience Driven Innovation (UXDI) framework, this study aims at gaining a better understanding of patients’ needs through persona development. This study is part of a larger research program that attempts to design a self-supporting technological intervention for type 2 diabetes patients. In this study, Electronic Health Record (EHR) data of type 2 diabetes patients was analyzed to develop a set of data personas each representing a unique patient group belonging to UMass Memorial Accountable Care Organization (ACO). The analysis resulted in 8 clusters based on 20 different patient characteristics. A major goal of the study was to explore patterns in the patient data that related to social determinants of health (SDOH) with an aim to discover data patterns for those patient groups who not only have high health risks but also vary based on factors such as their location, access to technology-based care and race and ethnicity. These patient groups are represented by the data personas which were generated using the electronic health records. Data personas were then mapped to proto personas, which were generated for the same population in a prior study. The mapping of proto and data personas facilitated the validation of the assumption based proto persons. In addition to validation, in general, such a mapping refines the understanding of patient needs by combining what is learned from each persona development approach thereby adding to the robustness and validity of the persona development process in user experience research.

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