THE CHALLENGE

🏥

How might we help patients make fertility preservation decisions by providing comprehensive, structured, and multi-channel information, so they can make choices that align with their values within limited time?

Key Highlights

01 / Journey-Based Navigation

Helping users stay oriented and know what to read next.

02 / Step-by-Step Decision Guidance

Provides a clear, structured path that helps patients understand where they are and what to do next in the decision process.

03 / Personalized Decision Aid Feature

Features like personalized preference reports and custom question lists help patients prepare in advance, communicate more effectively with healthcare providers, and make informed final decisions.

The process

Followed a 4D design workflow, iteratively refining research and design to help potential users make informed decisions.

define

discover

design

deploy

01 / DEFINE

Defing The Problem

In China, young women diagnosed with breast cancer often don’t receive enough guidance about fertility preservation. Treatments like chemotherapy or hormone therapy can affect their ability to have children, but patients may miss the chance to preserve fertility because the process is complex and information is limited.

Desk Research

Through desk research, we identified key insights that helped understand the problem.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women of reproductive age. Over 350k new cases yearly in China (7.4% of all cancers)

Source: International Journal of Women’s Health

In China, young breast cancer patients make up 18.7% of all cases. With the trend of delayed fertility, many are diagnosed before having children.

Source: European Journal of Oncology Nursing

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women of reproductive age. Over 350k new cases yearly in China (7.4% of all cancers)

Source: International Journal of Women’s Health

In China, young breast cancer patients make up 18.7% of all cases. With the trend of delayed fertility, many are diagnosed before having children.

Source: European Journal of Oncology Nursing

26% of Chinese young breast cancer patients plan to have children, but only 14% know about fertility tech and 2% have used it.

Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing

Fertility decisions are influenced by many factors. Online decision aids have proven effective in supplementing information, helping patients understand options and make informed choices.

Source: AOGS

26% of Chinese young breast cancer patients plan to have children, but only 14% know about fertility tech and 2% have used it.

Source: International Journal of Women’s Health

Fertility decisions are influenced by many factors. Online decision aids have proven effective in supplementing information, helping patients understand options and make informed choices.

Source: AOGS

02 / DISCOVER

Qualitative Research

To dig deeper into user pain points, we conducted in-depth interviews with patients and breast cancer healthcare professionals, and analyzed the collected data using thematic analysis.

Patient

Participants:
Women of reproductive age with breast cancer — aged 18–45, fluent in Chinese, diagnosed within the past 10 years, and have undergone or are about to undergo treatments that may affect fertility.

Interview Guide:
Attitudes toward fertility / Experiences during diagnosis / Fertility preservation decision-making process / Suggestions for decision-support design / Views on the future

Healthcare Provider

Participants:
Breast cancer healthcare providers — including breast surgeons, specialized nurses, and head nurses.

Interview Guide:
Attitudes toward patient fertility / Current practices in discussing fertility issues / Suggestions for decision aid design / Views on the future

Data Analysis

Thematic Analysis:
1. Familiarize yourself with the collected data.
2. Generate initial codes for important data.
3. Identify potential themes.
4. Review and refine the themes.
5. Define and name each theme.Produce the final report.

22 interviews with 16 patients (9 completed fertility preservation, 7 did not) and 6 breast cancer healthcare professionals generated 264k+ words of transcripts. The data was coded and analyzed to extract key themes and subthemes on fertility preservation for young women with breast cancer.

Patient Journey & Service Blueprint

Key Insights

01 / Information Overload Challenge

Both patients and healthcare professionals value comprehensive information, but patients often feel overwhelmed when faced with too much content.

🎨 Design Implication 01

Journey-Based Navigation

02 / Lack of Decision Guidance

Patients are required to make high-impact medical decisions within a limited time, yet many are unsure what to learn first, what questions to ask, or what steps to take next.

🎨 Design Implication 02

Step-by-Step Decision Guidance

03 / Personalized Decision Needs

The factors influencing each patient’s decision vary greatly. Therefore, it’s essential to provide features that support personalized decision-making.

🎨 Design Implication 03

Personalized Decision Aid Feature

03 / DESIGN

Information Architecture

Logo Design

The logo integrates key concepts such as patient-centered care, fertility, inclusiveness and love.

Hi-Fi Prototypes

04 / DEPLOY

Soft Launch

iFertiCare, China’s first public fertility preservation platform, was soft launched and quickly gained coverage from many major Chinese media outlets.

iFertiCare

THE CHALLENGE

Key Highlights