Ari-Test: Set the Focus on the User Experience in the Design of a Self-Sampling Device for HPV Detection in Women

Silva, Macarena and Gonzalez, Alberto and Caro, Ivan (2024) Ari-Test: Set the Focus on the User Experience in the Design of a Self-Sampling Device for HPV Detection in Women. In: P/References of Design. Cumulus conference proceedings series, 1 (1). Cumulus Association, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Budapest, pp. 1635-1646. ISBN 978-952-7549-02-5

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Abstract

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is regarded as the main cause of Cervical Cancer (CC), affecting over 440 million people worldwide (UC Christus Healthcare Network, s.f.), diagnosing over 600 thousand women each year, from which half of them die (WHO, 2023). In Chile, this outlook worsens, where 70% of over a thousand women who are diagnosed yearly die (Urrutia, 2015). It constitutes a global public problem, which has among its causes the inequality of access to healthcare services, refusal on the part of women to attend their gynecological check-ups, and other socioeconomic determinants (WHO, 2023) that complicate the situation. In the research, different critical interactions were raised, the most relevant is the lack of time and the discomfort generated by the PAP test (Papanicolau) experience, which distances women from the examination and, therefore, the early detection as well. These diseases are asymptomatic and don't show obvious signs until they are in an advanced state and treatment becomes limited. However, its effects can be treated when detected in time. This implies that we're facing a design problem that was not addressed as such. A healthcare and well-being concern that's affecting people's quality of life, so setting the view in the user's experience is something that wasn't being contemplated in these types of exams. The project proceeded considering the multiple aspects of the challenge but taking as priority those that directly influence the promotion of early detection. The research started as an undergraduate thesis in 2022 at the School of Design of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and it is currently financed by the National Research and Development Agency, Chile's main funding state institution in research matters. Ari-test eases vaginal self-sampling for HPV detection, allowing women to regain agency over their gynecological experience and self-care by granting the possibility of access to the exam in a simple way from the comfort and privacy of their homes. The design process was approached from the iterative methodology of Health Design Thinking, which focuses on the real needs and behaviors of users instead of seeing them as patients defined by illness (Ku and Lupton, 2018). Including users in the process through co-designing tools and considering their gynecological experiences was crucial and challenged us to go beyond designing only for their bodies but working for and with them. Different self-sampling devices from other parts of the world were reviewed and studied, suggesting a response to medical or laboratory perspectives instead of considering women's experiences. This concept became crucial for the development of the research, passing from a distant and invasive experience to a closer and easier one that promotes self-care, involving women with self-sampling, a technique that can help reach global targets of screening (WHO, 2023). In the following stages of the research, in collaboration with the CancerLab of Universidad Católica del Norte, the Ari-test device will be validated with 60 women from the Coquimbo region, Chile's territory with the highest CC indicators.

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