GrowMotif Virtual Prenatal Coaching App

before

Social impact startup with a proven perinatal health program for at-risk populations

Came to us with proof-of-concept for an avatar-guided mobile version of its program, ready for prototyping and testing

Needed a fully functioning and scalable app to secure partnerships with national organizations and reach millions in need

after

Released Android mobile app “GrowMotif” on Google Play Store in preparation for pilot study, paving the way for national WIC rollout

Engaging chatbot-led virtual counseling experience authentically simulates messaging with a real person

Robust yet flexible infrastructure primed to be adapted for other health coaching applications under client’s umbrella

Challenge

Scaling prenatal health coaching for millions in need

Nearly half of pregnant people in the US are on Medicaid, and this low-income group has a significantly elevated risk for birth-related complications. TrueMotif, a social impact startup from the University of Oregon’s Center for Translational Neuroscience, took aim at these disparities with a program targeting the primary determinants of poor birth outcomes: prenatal stress, and unhealthy prenatal behaviors. Small studies delivering this protocol through a bootstrapped app mockup showed it to be engaging and remarkably effective: pregnant mothers who used the program were nearly 6x less likely to deliver a preterm infant and nearly 12x less likely to deliver a low birthweight infant. With proof-of-concept under its belt, the team asked us to turn GrowMotif into a user-ready app they could use to test and deliver this game-changing program at-scale.

process

Making automated conversation feel human

TrueMotif asked us to design and develop an Android app in which an avatar counselor would lead users through prenatal support sessions, written in the voice of team lead and perinatal health expert, Dr. April Lightcap. The client emphasized that they wanted users to feel like they were having a genuine conversation with Dr. Lightcap – a departure from typical chatbot experiences. To accomplish this, we identified, designed, tested, and refined features that mimicked the feeling of real person-to-person text conversations.

solution

Simulating real-time interactions

When the avatar counselor is active, “typing” indicator dots paired with length-calibrated response delays emulate the experience of messaging with a human partner. When the avatar needs to deliver multiple messages in a row, without user interaction, average reading speed is also factored in – providing enough (but not too much) time to digest a message before the next one appears.

solution

Communicating authentically, virtually

We helped TrueMotif refine the avatar coach’s script to match real conversation patterns. Based on user feedback during the design phase, we broke up the content to deliver each new thought/theme in a separate message, (the way a human respondent might), and we incorporated more markers of real human expression (including emojis and conversational pauses) into the prompts and user response options.

solution

Built to grow & evolve

From its simple but effective backend to its elegantly integrated UI, GrowMotif was designed so that its content and appearance can be easily changed. This flexibility will allow TrueMotif to adapt and apply the app’s structure to other health support contexts – such as nutrition counseling for diabetics, activity programs for heart disease prevention, and more.

`Praise` from our clients

Sometimes I wonder, did you just really go above and beyond for us? Or is this what everybody gets? Because most people don't have this kind of experience building an app. We had fun! We actually looked forward to going to our meetings with you!

Dr. April Lightcap

Perinatal Health Expert, Co-owner of TrueMotif

The finished app’s look, feel, and build exceeded our expectations! We were really impressed with 20i’s smooth and engaging collaboration process, and we look forward to working with them for future projects.

Dr. Elliot Berkman

Professor of Psychology, Co-creator of TrueMotif