JumpstartMD aids people in achieving weight loss and improved well-being. Through individually tailored weight loss services and wellness programs, which are medically overseen and firmly rooted in comprehensive clinical research, JumpstartMD provides access to nutritional expertise and personalized support. This approach facilitates effective weight loss, the maintenance of a healthy weight, and transformative lifestyle changes.

The Problem

Recently, JumpstartMD decided to create a digital experience for their patients. JumstartMD had 13 physical brick-and-mortar locations, with no existing mobile app. Delivering a digital experience meant more opportunities for behavioral interventions in between appointments. As the Behavioral Science / UX Lead, I was responsible for doing discovery research, product ideation, defining requirements, and design that aligned with the business scope and vision. 

The Solution 

We developed a mobile app that was designed to be a "compassionate companion", aiming to address ongoing concerns and behavioral barriers of patients. We wanted the experience to feel seamless and empathetic, checking in on the patients' health journey and providing accessible guidance along the way - bridging the gap between appointments.

The Role

I conducted user research, defined key personas, ideated features based on behavioral science, evaluated the product features, and designed the wireframes and mockups before sending off to the development team.

• I led the research, development, and ideation of key product features.

• I created the sketches,  wireframes, low-fidelity mockups, and defined the technical requirements and product rules.

• I collaborated with the Frontend Lead and UI Designer to design the mockup and high-fidelity prototype.

• I worked with health coaches and clinicians and shadowed patient appointments to determine the user's needs and behavioral patterns.

• I worked with a renowned researcher in public health and health behaviors to create an intervention that is based on motivational interviewing.

Weight loss itself is a difficult journey not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. We wanted to design an app that was a "compassionate companion" that was empathetic to the user's needs, whether it was through language, interaction, or design. We want patients to think, "I feel supported on this journey and help is accessible for me."

High Level Goals

• Ensure each interaction has an empathetic approach and is what the user needs

• Make it clear that support is accessible and facilitate the user on their health journey

• Interviews - I opted for interviews to gain direct insights into the target users' behaviors, motivations, and pain points. By engaging in direct conversations, I aimed to uncover valuable insights that would inform the app's design, ensuring it aligns with both user needs and the behavioral science principles driving effective behavior change."

• Field studies - I observed patients' appointments with health coaches and clinicians so I could gain insight into common concerns and nuanced behavioral patterns. I translated those needs into a digital experience based on real-world contexts. effectiveness.

• Literature review - Conducting a comprehensive literature review was essential to ground the design decisions in established behavioral science principles, ensuring that the app's functionalities are not only user-friendly but also grounded in evidence-based approaches to drive healthy behavioral changes.

First step was to do a behavioral diagnosis of patients through research. 

Target Behavioral Outcome: Patient feels motivated and facilitated to continue in their health journey despite setbacks and challenges.

The goal was to understand the patients' needs, challenges, and pain points. I interviewed 5 clinicians and health coaches since they work very closely with the patients themselves. It was more informative to interview the staff because they work with a lot of patients and they can assess if there are any behavioral patterns in that group. Additionally, the clinicians and health coaches are experts in their field and are well-equipped in delivering an in-person experience, so they would be a good source for extracting key information. My role would be translating that in-person experience into digital.  

★ Insights 

• Patients experience diet fatigue, seeking variety, and a desire for cheat days and more flexibility in their approach

• Weight plateaus are common, requiring interventions like weight medications and coaching to get back on track

• Motivation is instilled through celebrating small progress, using biometrics, and focusing on overall well-being

• Patients are concerned about regaining weight after meeting their goals, indicating a need for post-journey support

• Patients often struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle while cooking for their families

• Fear of regaining weight deters some users from shifting to less frequent sessions.

• Medication shortages and communication challenges are present

• Patients motivate themselves by returning to basics, tracking their food, taking medications, and creating exercise plans

• Accountability, both in-person and digital, is crucial for motivation and success

• Patients value the human connection for accountability and are open to digital solutions with a human touch.

• Mobile app features are needed for administrative tasks such as reimbursements, scheduling, billing, notifications, and reminders

I also shadowed 10+ patient appointments at the in-person clinics to better understand the types of conversations and challenges patients were experiencing. By observing them in their natural settings, certain pain points and overall behavioral patterns could be revealed.

★ Insights 

• Patients tend to forget they have upcoming lab tests and the associated requirements 

• Patients may forget to lab ordering and appointment scheduling 

• Patients want a simple process of lab ordering and appointment scheduling.

• Patients have trouble staying motivated when there is a plateau and there are personal struggles

• Patients need to maintain engagement, even when facing setbacks

• Patients tend to forget to log food and water intake

• There can be resistance to meal planning and portion control due to perceived complexity, forgetfulness, or lack of time.

• Need to tailor recommendations to dietary preferences to reduce resistance to diet changes

• Need to through personalized feedback and recognition of achievements.

Studies showed that logging weight everyday reinforces motivation to stick to weight loss goals. In the context of weight loss and app design, behavioral change strategy should ideally focus on keystone behaviors first since they’re easier to adopt and builds self-efficacy.

Based on the insights from primary and secondary research, I narrowed down the design implications for addressing the behavioral barriers. By applying concepts like novelty bias, progress framing, and habit reinforcement, I designed nudges and structural interventions to sustain engagement. These design implications ensure that the digital experience actively supports behavior change, promoting long-term adherence and motivation. 

Understanding Personal Needs:

• Tailor intervention content to individual patient needs, preferences, motivations, values, and beliefs.

• Create user profiles based on diverse questions, motivations, values, and health goals.

• Consider different personal circumstances, leisure activities, health statuses, and professions.

Personalization and Messaging:

• Reinforce behavior by personalizing messages that align with the person's values and motivations.

• Use personalization to ensure inclusivity and resonance with user identity.

Goal Setting:

• Encourage goal commitment through precommitment and implementation intentions.

• Break down goals into subgoals and use microplans for better retention.

Feedback and Monitoring:

• Reward behavior rather than just outcomes to encourage positive habits.

• Use milestones and key dates as shareable achievements.

Goal Commitment:

• Use commitment devices like streaks, rewards, and positive feedback.

• Offer tangible feedback on progress, linking milestones with specific actions.

Framing and Preference:

• Utilize positive messages that motivate users to problem solve.

• Acknowledge the challenges and barriers associated with weight loss.

• Avoid fear-based and negative emotion-driven messaging.

Our content strategy involved carefully crafted MI-based messages that varied according to user progress, barriers, and individual milestones. I worked closely with a public health professor in refining these messages from an MI perspective. Each message acted as a touchpoint, encouraging users to reflect on their actions and outcomes in a non-judgmental way. For example, when users encountered weight plateaus, they received prompts like, “We noticed a pause in your progress. What might be getting in the way?” This approach encouraged users to identify their unique barriers, fostering a sense of autonomy and personal agency over their health decisions.

1. Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Motivational Interviewing principles encourage users to reflect on their progress, identify barriers, and set achievable goals. This approach aligns with self-determination theory by fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness in users’ responses.

Impact: This MI-inspired prompt gently engages users in self-reflection, which can increase intrinsic motivation and promote ongoing engagement with the app by allowing users to voice their individual struggles and successes.

2. Feedback Loops and Self-Monitoring

The app offers immediate feedback based on user inputs, which is a core component of habit formation. Feedback options such as “I met my goal” or “I almost met my goal, but not quite” allow users to track their progress, reinforcing positive behaviors.

Impact: By providing a structured response system, the app helps users build awareness around their choices and behaviors, reinforcing healthy habits and increasing retention. Future features will allow users to review their past responses so they can reflect on their journey and progress.

3. Behavior Triggers and Timed Reminders

The app’s messages are triggered by specific user statuses and app interactions, such as weight plateaus or incomplete logs. They are scheduled at strategic times to nudge users. This uses temporal triggers to prompt timely action, encouraging users to re-engage with the app.

Impact: Timed triggers provide consistent and personalized reminders to users, helping establish regular engagement patterns that keep users aligned with their health goals.

4. Goal-setting and Progress Monitoring:

The app includes prompts for setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), which align with goal-setting theory. This helps users form clear, actionable steps toward health optimization.

Impact: Clear, structured goals improve user engagement by making progress tangible. Users are more likely to stay committed to health objectives when they can see incremental progress, which boosts retention.

5. Nudging through Positive Framing and Status Quo Bias

Messages are framed to support user autonomy while nudging them toward engagement, such as through encouraging responses or highlighting positive changes. When users do not log weight or encounter challenges, the app frames messages to avoid judgment and gently reinforce regular tracking.

Impact: This positive framing reduces reactance (resistance to feeling controlled) and encourages continued app use, helping users establish and maintain healthy behaviors.

We successfully rolled out and launched to all enrolled patients across 13 JumpstartMD physical clinics. Patients reported they enjoyed using the app daily and loved the experience as it catered to the core components of their health journey. Many reported that it solved the biggest burden of the health program - which was logging.

By embedding behavioral science principles into the app’s core design and messaging, we achieved user engagement and loyalty. Key design elements, such as dynamic appointment reminders, positive reinforcement in progress tracking, and habit-forming daily logs, resulted in a user experience that intuitively supports health goals and fosters consistent app interaction. 

This targeted approach yielded tangible benefits by driving higher user retention, increasing daily active usage, and deepening user loyalty - key metrics that are critical to long-term business growth.

Following the success of our initial launch, we later introduced additional features to drive even higher engagement, which led up to a 2x increase in interactions within the app.

Through our psychology-driven design, we created an engaging platform that not only empowers users but also strengthens brand affinity, setting the stage for sustainable business success and scalability in the digital health space.