Yuta: Navigating Social and Emotional Wellness Theme: Are we ready for the next wave?

Are our current healthcare and wellness measures sustainable?

July 23rd 2021 - Bangalore + New YorkImage Source: UnSplash

Team - The Three Idlis

Samaya BurdeService Designer

Mentor’s name: Probal BanerjeeCo-Founder, Facilitator, Depicentre Consulting

Raksha HungundUX designer

Gayatri BurdeUI UX Designer

As WHO states, adolescence is a crucial period for developing and maintaining social and emotional habits important for mental well-being (healthy sleep patterns, regular exercise; developing coping mechanisms with a social group, interpersonal skills; and learning to manage emotions).

During the first and second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, many children and teens have had tough time coping emotionally. Educational Institutes are considered least essential when lockdown rules are eased.

For adolescents and teens restrictions have resulted in months of virtual learning, more time away from friends, and the cancellation of major social activities like as sports, school performances, and graduations etc.

If we are about to encounter the third wave of COVID-19 where the uncertainty continues, adolescents resume dealing with the loss of normalcy without being able to make room for emotions.

Background

Image Source: Manshen Lo

How might we create a safe space for teenagers and young adults (16- 21 yrs) to equip them in dealing with uncertainty and navigate emotions during the pandemic?

High school and college is a time when our sense of self is sculpted through important rites of passages, building ones close communities and impressionable experiences but the restrictions of the pandemic is depreciating the social and mental wellbeing of 16-21 year olds.

With little to no support for emotional needs and wellbeing many are not be able to express themselves as they cannot identify the intense emotions like grief, frustration and anxiety that the pandemic brought. At home, they may not be heard or listened to, making them withdraw from their surroundings.

Making room for Emotions

Mental Wellbeing The Need of the hour

Quotes from research Interviews

India has the largest young population in the world at 189 million people between 15-24 years of age.

If we do not address the impact of the pandemic on mental health now, young people in India will likely face challenges in achieving their social and economic potential.

This generation faces the risk of being scarred by similar events. They carry our future and they need to have the flexibility to share comfortably, to take chances and deal with difficult emotions.

Target User Persona

Ananya, 18 (She/Her)

StudentTumkur, KarnatakaLives with her parents

It's the year 2021. Ananya is about to finish her 12th grade but her exams which were delayed several times, are now cancelled. Her teachers are not sure about how they would be evaluated. While she is happy about not having to write exams, she is concerned about the new evaluation criteria.

She wants to study Architecture in Bangalore, learn to live independently and experience life differently from what she is used to. She is unsure that this aspiration would turn to reality with the news of the third wave coming soon. Ananya gets very anxious about what awaits her next. She now lives in fear and anticipation of her phone ringing which might inform her of a new death in the family. She does not know what to do as she feels emotionally crippled. Talking to her friends over a call did not change the way she has been feeling.

Image Source: UnSplash

Target User Persona

Sarvesh, 17 (He/Him)

StudentSagara, KarnatakaLives in a joint family

Sarvesh completed his first year of the Pre-University Program. Due to COVID-19, he was required to attend classes online. His family is not happy with that. They advise him not to pursue his education since learning online would be a waste of time. They urge that he work on their farm because he recently lost his uncle to COVID-19.

Sarvesh feels irritated and worried by the circumstance. He is unable to share it with his friends because most of them have already left college and begun working, and he is unable to establish new acquaintances online.

Image Source: UnSplash

ExplorationsBased on the personas and insights, we discussed some ideas.

Our solution

WHAT? Yuta is a service that helps teenagers and young adults deal with emotions like anxiety and frustration that comes along as they navigate uncertainty of their future by connecting with

A. An older mentor through a letter writing exchangeB. Connecting with themselves by focusing on daily

short well being exercises in a playbook

WHO?Yuta can be used to connect :Users

1. Teenagers and young adults and 2. Elderly community

Yuta seeks to collaborate with :Stakeholders

1. Educational institutions2. Elder care communities3. Education NGOs4. Mental health NGOs and collaborators

Introducing Yuta (connection)

Service Journey Map

User ExperienceHOW DO PEOPLE USE YUTA?

DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT 1Teenagers and young adults looking to sign up can send an SMS to the Yuta chat bot. The chatbot assists them in signing up for the Yuta letter exchange. They will then receive a Yuta kit which will contain a daily well being activity playbook and a letter from the paired mentor.

Prototype video link

DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT 1

Yuta chat bot asks for name and language preference

Yuta chat bot asks why they are seeking a mentor

Yuta chat bot asks for address to send the kit.

User ExperienceHOW DO PEOPLE USE YUTA?

TOUCHPOINT 2After sign up, the participants receive a kit which contains :

B. Connect with themselves: A playbook with curated well being daily activities that the participants can do for a short amount of time.

A. Connect with mentor: A letter from their mentor. They can continue to exchange letters with their mentors.

User ExperienceHOW DO PEOPLE USE YUTA?

DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT 3Senior citizens can access the Yuta website to register as mentors. The website is a platform to get an idea of how Yuta works and what it stands for with a curated resource section and procedure of how it works.

Prototype video link

DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT 3

Registration form - Personal information

Homepage

DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT 3

Registration form - Mentor motivationRegistration form - Contact information

Design Process

Desk Research

Stakeholder Interviews

Insight Synthesis Problem Statement

Exploration and Opportunities

Service Experience Design

Prototype development

Testing and Impact Measurement Plan

Impact on the Society

Support Personal Growth

Support Mental

WellbeingInclusivity Mutually

beneficial

Mentorship by people who have experienced different walks of life will provide perspectives and approaches on how to navigate next steps.

A much needed listening ear to provide care and support.

Medium outside of digital screens to ease stress caused by increased screen time.

Use of SMS and postal services decreases dependency on smartphones and internet

This interaction will keep Retired professionals motivated and remain as an important member contributing to the future generation.

Sustainability

● Extend the time spent indoors, on screen further for the younger generation

● Reduction of students opting for higher education

● Increase in mental health issues and need for mental health workers

WHAT WILL THE THIRD WAVE BRING?

Reduced dependency

on digital medium

Tactile + Eco-friendly

Products

Reduce barriers for

Mental Healthcare

Decrease pressure of

Mental Health

workers

"The entire mental health workforce, comprising clinical psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric social workers and psychiatric nurses, stands at 7,000, while the actual requirement is around 55,000." Source

Execution & Business Viability

3 Month Pilot Program:

- To test and learn more about our users needs and improve the design of the kit

- To evaluate the connection formed between mentor and target user

- To test value delivered from the service

~1000 Users

~500 Mentors

~10 Educational Institute Partners

~10 Elder-care NGO Partners

Execution & Business Viability

Thank you!We would like to thank UMO Foundation for giving us the opportunity to tackle an essential question in today’s world. We would also like to thank them for the support provided at every stage in the competition.

We would like to thank our mentor, Probal Banerjee for his helpful insights and invaluable guidance during this challenge.