Coronavirus response for Action on Hearing Loss

Action on Hearing Loss is a UK-based charity that supports Deaf people, and people with hearing loss and tinnitus. I worked with the charity’s UX team during the coronavirus outbreak as a freelance content designer. Project background When the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak took hold in the UK, Action on Hearing Loss’ face-to-face services were forced to stop running. People who are Deaf or have hearing loss or tinnitus had their audiology services massively reduced, and it became clear these people needed support during the outbreak. The team’s design lead ran a research sprint based on the question ‘How might we help people affected by coronavirus?’, which led to a comprehensive set of user needs and possible solutions. I was tasked with sketching and designing content to meet these user needs. The topics I focused on were: - helping hearing aid users who had limited access to their hearing aid providers - content designing a way to find face-to-face local and national services that were now running virtually. Response goals The goals of the coronavirus response were to: - meet the user needs through the creation of new content - update existing content with information about suspended services due to coronavirus - publish the content quickly to measure response from users and iterate. Using a content design approach During my work on Action on Hearing Loss’ coronavirus response I designed and wrote pages on: - what to do if you need new hearing aid batteries or tubing during the coronavirus outbreak - what to do if your hearing aids need adjusting or repairing during the coronavirus outbreak - how to keep your hearing aids clean during the coronavirus outbreak - what to do if you’re waiting for hearing aids to be fitted during the coronavirus outbreak - what to do if you lose your hearing during the coronavirus outbreak - descriptions for local and national services now happening remotely. With the exception of the services content, these pages were drafted, reviewed and published within a week to meet the user needs as quickly as possible. I followed a content design approach to do this, including: - sketching and drafting content to meet user needs - reviewing prototypes and content - rewriting content in plain English - working closely with subject matter experts to ensure consistency around terms and compliance with government advice - iterating content based on research findings. Outcomes The coronavirus response content successfully went live on schedule. Several of the content pages I designed and wrote were shown by analytics to be the ‘most useful’. This is according to users selecting yes or no to the ‘Is this page useful?’ question on each page.