Rodriguez-Baron, Elsa B.; Rodriguez, Jorge A.; Samal, Lipika; Anders, Shilo; Beebe, Russell; Reale, Carrie; Elasy, Tom; Hackstadt, Amber J.; Yu, Zhihong; Mayberry, Lindsay; Nelson, Lyndsay A.; Rosenbloom, S. Trent; Wright, Adam; Nigg, Audriana; Martinez, William. (2026).听.听Digital Health.听
This study aimed to improve the My Diabetes Care (MDC) patient portal, a digital tool that helps people manage diabetes, by making the interface easier to use and adding more health information, such as weight, body mass index (BMI), and urine microalbumin, which is a marker used to check for kidney damage. The researchers also created a Spanish-language version designed to be more culturally appropriate and accessible for Spanish-speaking patients. To do this, they used a five-step design process and tested the prototype with 12 adults with type 2 diabetes from primary care clinics. Participants completed tasks in the portal and gave feedback through interviews and usability surveys. The team also worked with Spanish-speaking community consultants to help shape the language, design, and onboarding support for the Spanish version. After two rounds of testing, the portal was improved in terms of both layout and wording, and all participants were able to complete the tasks successfully in the final round. Usability scores were very high, suggesting that the system was easy to use. Overall, the study shows that involving users and community members in the design process can help create a diabetes self-management tool that is both practical and responsive to the needs of diverse patients.
Figure 2. Illustrative examples of selected design sprint activities. (a) Related 鈥渉ow might we鈥� statements grouped into a category. (b) Design sketches with dot stickers to visually indicate individual preferences and collectively prioritize design components.