NASCEND

Modernizing Infant Care

Web & Mobile UX / UI / Design System

NASCEND is a Certified B Corporation, founded by neonatologist Dr. Dawn Forbes. Dr. Forbes is a nationally recognized expert in the care of infants affected by maternal substance use disorder.

The Problem
Each year, an estimated 15% of infants are affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol or illicit drugs. That means 1 infant is born every 15 minutes requiring treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) resulting in an aggregate cost of care of more than $2.5 billion.

The Solution
Along with live training, evidence-supported guidelines, and family-focused intervention, NASCEND is transforming the experience of NAS with technology. ASSESS is a new tool used by NICU nurses to accurately assess the symptoms of babies born with NAS.

My Role
I am the lead and solo product designer on the NASCEND team. I have designed two iOS apps, NASCEND Assess and AssessPro, along with a desktop application that is in development.

Patient Dashboard

Understanding what to include in any dashboard is important. Through basic research and subject matter expert interviews, I was able to determine the level of detail needed to be shown from the dashboard view. This is where a nurse or physician can see the infant’s last assessment levels, the current pharmacological treatment, and comfort measures. From this view, the user can assess the baby again, play music, or discharge the patient.

Assessment Summary

Once the infant assessment is complete, the nurse receives a summary of the results. If the baby is showing a decrease in stability indicators, this is where they will see that information. A key feature of this screen is the treatment recommendation. A pharmacological recommendation is provided through an algorithm of collected data combined with the last assessment results.

Hospital Dashboard

A hospital administrator has the ability to check the overall results of the hospital’s NICU when it comes to treating infants born with in-utero drug exposure. The hospital’s management can see how their staff are performing and require more training if a nurse is not following proper protocols.

iOS

I designed the UX and UI for the iOS version of the application. The first release to the App Store was a stripped-down version that included just the assessment feature. A hospital version that included more recommendations and features was later released.

Marketing Website

As the lead designer, I was also responsible for improving the overall brand identity. I created a design system that limited the use of color and maintained a very clean user interface.

Wire flow

This flow shows a NICU nurse receiving an email to access the NASCEND web tool. When the account is created, the nurse can proceed by creating a new patient identification number (new infants) or find a patient already in the system.

Design System

The brand guide I created is used by all developers, marketers, and creative agencies to maintain brand consistency. This was a necessary document to create for a founder who has a hands-on style of leadership.