Healthcare Microbiome Visualisation

Making Complex Science Accessible

Summary

When I joined this healthcare company in 2022, I worked as a product design lead on creating educational materials for microbiome testing.
The company provided comprehensive gut health analysis, but there was a significant gap between the sophisticated science behind the testing and patients' ability to understand and act on their results.
An important challenge I tackled was making microbiome science accessible to both healthcare providers and patients.
The existing materials were dense, technical, and failed to connect complex biological concepts to actionable health improvements.

Project Summary

Challenge

Making microbiome science accessible to both healthcare providers and patients by transforming complex biological concepts into actionable health insights.

Approach

Conducted structured user research with providers and patients, mapped educational journeys, and created multi-modal learning experiences.

My Role

Led the product design effort to create educational materials that bridged the gap between sophisticated science and patient understanding.

Results

35% increase in provider confidence
42% improvement in patient understanding
38% reduction in support requests

Exploring How We Might Improve Health Education

The microbiome testing space is incredibly complex. The challenges we had to address were:

Provider Knowledge Gap – Many healthcare providers referring patients for testing struggled to explain the science and benefits clearly. This led to confusion and reduced patient confidence in the testing process.

Patient Understanding Barrier – Test results contained detailed bacterial analysis that meant nothing to most people. Patients would receive comprehensive reports but couldn't translate findings into meaningful lifestyle changes.

Education Delivery Method – Traditional pamphlets and static PDFs weren't engaging enough to help people grasp complex biological concepts or remember key information.

Variable Learning Styles – Different people learn through visual, interactive, or narrative approaches, but our materials only catered to text-based learning.

The Solution

We created a comprehensive visualisation system that transformed complex microbiome science into accessible, actionable insights. Rather than simplifying the science, we found better ways to communicate its complexity.

After collecting over 100 feedback points through structured user research with both providers and patients, we evolved our educational approach. We wanted to understand not just what people didn't know, but how they preferred to learn.

Patient View - Microbiome Report — Patient Dashboard

Watch Interface for Health Tracking — Health Tracking

Interactive Visualization — Interactive Learning

Recommendations Dashboard — Personalized Recommendations

Before and After

Before

The original educational materials were text-heavy scientific reports with basic charts showing bacterial composition levels.

After

After understanding how people actually processed health information, we created interactive visualisation experiences that connected bacterial findings to specific health outcomes and lifestyle recommendations.

What We Delivered

What we created significantly improved understanding and engagement:

35% increase in provider confidence when explaining microbiome testing to patients
42% improvement in patient understanding of their test results
Structured research function that collected over 100 feedback points
Multi-modal learning framework addressing visual, interactive, and narrative learning preferences
Reduced support requests by 38% through clearer information architecture

Designing for Health Literacy

Health communication requires different design principles than typical product interfaces. You're dealing with people's anxieties about their health, complex scientific concepts, and the need to motivate behaviour change.

Every visualisation had to balance scientific accuracy with accessibility. We couldn't oversimplify the science, but we also couldn't overwhelm people with technical jargon.

The Process

When I started, the company had collected extensive research about their testing process but nothing specifically about how people understood and used their results. Providers were referring patients but couldn't answer basic questions about what the test would reveal.

So I mapped the entire educational journey from initial provider conversation through post-test action planning, identifying every point where understanding broke down.

Understanding Learning Preferences

I conducted in-depth interviews with both healthcare providers and patients to understand how they preferred to receive and process health information. The patterns were revealing:

Visual learners needed to see bacterial relationships as ecosystems, not lists
Interactive learners wanted to explore \"what-if\" scenarios with diet changes
Narrative learners responded to patient stories and case studies
Analytical learners wanted access to the detailed data behind recommendations

Creating Multi-Modal Experiences

Based on these insights, we developed different content formats that could work independently or together:

Interactive visualisations showing how bacterial balance affects health outcomes
Narrative case studies following real patients through their microbiome improvement journeys
Customisable data views allowing providers to show different levels of detail based on patient preferences
Action-oriented summaries connecting test results directly to specific lifestyle recommendations

Learning #1
Health education isn't about dumbing down complex information - it's about finding the right metaphors and visualisation approaches that make complexity accessible without losing accuracy.

Iterating Based on Real Usage

We implemented continuous feedback collection through the educational materials themselves. Users could indicate which sections were helpful, confusing, or missing information they needed.

This real-time feedback revealed that people wanted to understand not just what their results meant, but why the science worked the way it did. Simply telling someone to \"eat more fiber\" wasn't as effective as showing them how specific bacterial strains respond to different nutrients.

Learning #2
When designing for health behaviour change, people need to understand the \"why\" behind recommendations to feel motivated to follow them. Visualising the biological mechanisms builds both understanding and commitment.

Key Takeaways

This project taught me that effective health communication requires deep empathy for both the scientific complexity involved and the human need to understand how that complexity affects their daily life. The most successful educational materials don't just inform - they empower people to make confident decisions about their health based on solid understanding rather than blind trust.