Hi, I'm Adam

Context

UNODC operates a Drug Rehabilitation Program along coastal Kenya, which supports People Who Use Drugs (PWUD). PWUD are considered among Kenya's key population or most-at-risk populations because they have significantly higher HIV prevalence rates compared to the general population.

The objective of the program is to reduce HIV morbidity and mortality among people who use drugs and people who inject drugs in Kenya by enhancing access to comprehensive HIV prevention care and support through the service delivery of the Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) program in the Coast Region.

Challenge

Since the launch of the project, UNODC has faced challenges with reporting real time and accurate data from the field that can assist in informing strategic and policy decisions. UNODC has been interested in creating and implementing a digital application that collects, analyzes, and shares relevant indicators with its partners.

How might we improve the 'real time' and accuracy of data that is collected and aggregated between health clinics and civil society organizations to inform strategic decision making across multi-stakeholders?

Approach & Outcomes

As the lead consultant, I was responsible for conducting comprehensive design research, leveraging insights from patients and stakeholders, and re-designing the Real Time Monitoring system by integrating design thinking methodologies. Through ethnographic research, in-depth interviews, and workshop facilitation with multiple stakeholders, we developed a solution that significantly improved data collection accuracy and reporting efficiency.

Context

As a leading organization in the Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) industry, Planned Parenthood offers all individuals a wide range of services and empowers them to make independent and informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive lives.

New York City is a cultural hub and one in five New Yorkers is an immigrant. In 2015, 23 percent of the state's population comprised of immigrants who are foreign-born individuals. While serving a diverse immigrant population and with the recent political climate, there presents an opportunity to understand the broad challenges of education and accessibility that might be barriers for immigrants who are in need of SRH education and services.

Challenge

"We have noticed a decline in immigrant communities visiting our healthcare centers. How can we engage communities so that they feel comfortable and safe when accessing our services?"

Our Approach

We approached this through the following stages:

• Understanding the needs and experiences of immigrants who are in need of SRH education and services through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions at barbershops, card sorting activities, experiential learning, and expert interviews with healthcare professionals
• Synthesizing our learnings using tools such as affinity maps, empathy maps, personas, and journey maps
• Our key insights informed us framing our challenge of "How Might We create engaging and accessible resources that can help teenagers, young adults, and partners make informed decisions about their sexual health?"
• Generating ideas based on our defined problem and design principles and bringing our ideas to life by creating prototypes and testing them with people
• Developing a business case for our solution

Findings & Opportunities

Through this process, we reframed our design challenge to explore how might we create engaging and relevant resources that can help teenagers, young adults, and parents from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds make informed decisions about their sexual health.

By understanding how communities best learn about this subject and conducting interviews with individuals at barbershops, laundromats, schools, and public spaces, we discovered an opportunity to create content that helps immigrant communities navigate their sexual health education in an American context.

Solution: Choices

Choices is an interactive video series of short videos based on the lives of immigrant communities that provides sexual health education and supports individuals to build their confidence by making informed decisions.

We noticed that individuals learn more about American culture, norms, and their sexual health education through our interactive videos than through traditional resources such as pamphlets and videos.

Project Overview

As a design research co-lead with iHub Research, I worked alongside my colleague to understand and address financial inclusion challenges facing women in post-conflict communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Context

Women For Women International works to support the most marginalized women in countries affected by conflict and war. The organization helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives by providing them with tools, resources, and skills to move from crisis and poverty to stability and economic self-sufficiency.

Approach

Through comprehensive ethnographic research, we conducted day-in-the-life observations, in-depth interviews, and stakeholder engagement sessions in Bukavu to understand the financial behaviors, challenges, and opportunities facing women in the region.

Our research methodology included immersive fieldwork to understand the daily realities of women navigating economic systems in a post-conflict environment, synthesizing insights through affinity mapping and journey mapping, and co-creating solutions through storyboarding and concept generation sessions.

Outcomes

The research findings informed the design of financial tools and services better suited to the unique needs and constraints of women in Bukavu, taking into account their limited literacy, lack of formal banking infrastructure, and cultural considerations around money and economic empowerment.

Working with Brooklyn Public Library to redesign re-entry services for individuals transitioning from incarceration back into their communities. This project focused on understanding the unique challenges and barriers faced by this population and designing services that provide meaningful support during this critical transition period.

Collaborated with the Philadelphia Participatory Design Lab to co-design services for people experiencing homelessness. Through trauma-informed research methods and participatory design workshops, we worked directly with individuals experiencing homelessness to understand their needs and co-create solutions that restore dignity and provide meaningful pathways to stability.

Project Overview

As the lead design researcher with iHub Research, I spearheaded this project to understand and improve family planning education and service delivery in Kenya, working closely with the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University.

Context

Family planning remains a critical public health priority in Kenya, with significant implications for maternal health, child development, and economic empowerment. Despite progress in recent years, barriers to access, cultural stigma, and knowledge gaps continue to limit uptake of family planning services and information.

Approach

Through participatory design research methods, we engaged directly with communities across Nairobi to understand their lived experiences with family planning. Our approach included conducting in-depth interviews with women, couples, and healthcare providers, facilitating co-design workshops to understand barriers and opportunities, and synthesizing insights to identify key intervention points.

Key Focus Areas

The research focused on understanding cultural attitudes toward family planning, identifying information gaps and misconceptions, mapping the journey of accessing family planning services, and uncovering opportunities for digital and community-based interventions.

Outcomes

The insights gathered informed the design of more culturally appropriate and accessible family planning tools and educational resources, taking into account the diverse needs of Kenyan communities and the complex interplay of social, cultural, and economic factors that influence family planning decisions.