Creating a Healthcare App for Deaf Users

Chapter 1: So… what’s the problem?

📢 PROBLEM

Imagine needing a doctor… but not being able to understand them. That’s the daily reality for many deaf individuals in the UK navigating access to healthcare. This could lead to deaf users having low health quality over time.

🎯 GOAL

Design a telehealth app that bridges the communication gap between deaf users and healthcare providers by enabling clear, real-time, and accessible interactions that feel natural, stress-free, and human.

I saw an opportunity to build something better, where accessibility wasn’t an afterthought, because existing apps weren’t cutting it:

• No real-time transcription

• No visual cues or signing integration

• Confusing flows that discourage users

Chapter 2: The research process

SECONDARY RESEARCH

An academic literature review and a competitor analysis was performed on the existing deaf users’ approach in accessing healthcare service, how the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) support their needs, and how current telehealth apps solve this problem.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Along with the current findings from the secondary research, I didn’t want to play the guessing game, so I conducted interviews with 2 deaf individuals and 3 healthcare professionals.

Chapter 3: Designing a better way to “see & hear” from your doctor

THE CORE PAGES

I had a big vision: an end-to-end healthcare app tailored for deaf users for accessing healthcare service. The core pages are shown below:

• 💬 Chat – Real-time transcription, messaging-style flow, smart replies, and key medical term highlights – all in one chat interface.

• 📅 Booking – Easy doctor visit booking via assigned or nearby clinics; no voice calls or long forms needed.

• 🧑‍⚕️ Profile – A simple space where users can access medical records, visit history, and personalized health information.

• 🧠 Learn BSL - A built-in learning space for British Sign Language; short, friendly lessons to empower users and promote inclusion.

BRANDING

• Logo
  Ear & Cross - blending the deaf and healthcare world visually: clean, symbolic, and straight to the point.

• Colour palette
  Teal & Blue - Soothing, clean, healthcare-approved. Feels modern but warm, just like how healthcare should feel.

• Typography
  Roboto - I went with safe and clean to keep things simplistic and intuitive.

Chapter 4: Testing, tweaking, and ✨transcribing✨

With the core pages mapped out, it was time to refine every little detail, from interactions to accessibility.
This stage was all about making sure the UI felt clear, intuitive, and empowering for deaf users navigating healthcare.

Even though I’m not a developer, I pushed myself to create a working prototype, and it paid off. I used:

• Flutter as the cross-platform framework

• Android Studio as the IDE

• Kotlin to power the logic

• Firebase's ML Kit to handle speech-to-text and AI features

It was scrappy, but it worked. And most importantly, it proved the experience could be brought to life.

Chapter 5: Reflections & what’s next

✨WHAT I LEARNED

• Stronger UX understanding
  This first ever UX project grew my confidence and gave me a clearer view of UX as a whole.

• Watch out for assumptions
  I need to lean more on research and focus tightly on core user needs.

• Improve design consistency
  A better design system is key to avoiding inconsistencies and ensuring both form and function.

✅ NEXT STEPS

• Better as a feature, not a standalone app
  Integrating features into existing healthcare apps would better serve users and align with business goals for meeting immediate needs.

• Simpler is better
  Early design was feature-heavy and could overwhelm users. A streamlined, needs-based approach with gradual feature rollout would be more effective.