MedSport:
Redesigning High School Athletic Injury Recovery
(includes wireframes & high-fidelity prototype)
Role: UX Designer & Researcher
Teammate: E. Rivas
THE CHALLENGE
Approximately 1.2 million high school students in the US suffer sports injuries annually, overwhelming athletic trainers who have limited time for individual treatment. Communication gaps frequently arise between student athletes and their trainers, which hinders the recovery process and leaves athletes feeling unsupported.
THE SOLUTION
We built the MedSport prototype app to fix the communication breakdown between injured high school student athletes and their trainers. By organizing care plans, visualizing daily progress, and offering a direct chat feature, the app tracks both physical and mental recovery. It makes sure that students are never left without support, even when in-person visits just are not possible.
HOW WE RESEARCHED:
We decided to take a quantitative approach to see how effective MedSport could be.
Here is a breakdown of exactly how we set up the study:
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We conducted a literature review, studying existing medical apps and articles to figure out the features an injury recovery app actually needs to succeed.
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We used Procreate (sketching) and Figma to create digital wireframes and the Adalo platform to build the high-fidelity prototype. To keep the app looking realistic without compromising any real patient data, we populated it with AI-generated names and photos, and used a text message generator to mock up the chat feature.
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Using a purposive sampling method, we tracked down our target audience: high school athletic trainers and athletes from Northern New Jersey who were currently dealing with (or had recovered from) a sports injury.
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We asked our participants to download the MedSport prototype and use it extensively for two full weeks. This gave everyone enough time to really get familiar with the features and see how the app handled the day-to-day recovery process.
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After the testing period, we sent out a fully anonymous survey via Google Forms. We used the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to collect numerical ratings on the app's functionality, engagement, information quality, and aesthetics. We made sure everyone provided informed consent, including signed permission forms for any participants under 18.
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Like any research project, we ran into a few roadblocks. We were working within a tight four-week window to collect all of our survey responses, and we only had a prototype to test. Plus, tracking down athletic trainers across different school districts was definitely a challenge, especially when we often had to rely on social media just to find them!
PERSONA & PROBLEM STATEMENTS:
STUDENT ATHLETE PERSONA
ATHLETIC TRAINER PERSONA
BUILDING THE BLUEPRINT: WIREFRAMES
We used Procreate (sketching) to design and map out the screens and user flow (Figma). We basically needed to design two different experiences:
STUDENT DASHBOARD -
The high school student athlete taps "I am a STUDENT ATHLETE".
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The high school student selects the school s/he is in and then lands on the "student screen portal". From this screen, the student taps on Health Summary to see a listing of the CARE PLAN and can also tap on Incident Reports.
The Preventative Care page enables the student to see what care steps the athletic trainer has provided.
The high school student can also tap on the Athletic Trainers screen to see his/her trainers, the trainer bio, chat with the trainer, and personalize his/her app settings.
ATHLETIC TRAINER DASHBOARD -
The athletic trainer taps "I am an ATHLETIC TRAINER".
The athletic trainer selects what school s/he is training at. The app then opens to the athletic trainer dashboard where s/he can view student and parent messages, physician updates, view active/inactive student injuries, add a new injury to a student's profile, and complete the athletic trainer report. Under each student profile, the athletic trainer can view details about the student, his/her recommended treatments, supported medical documents, parent/guardian information, and add new injuries.
The athletic trainer can choose from a dropdown menu of
pre-selected injuries or add their own to the student's profile.
The athletic trainer can chat with both the student and the student's guardian(s).
USER FLOW
HOW MEDSPORT WORKS
MedSport acts as a daily check-in hub where injured student athletes can log updates on both their physical healing and their mental well-being.
These daily reports are sent right to their athletic trainer. This allows the trainer to closely monitor the athlete's progress and offer personalized support or new recommendations.
It basically keeps the student athlete and trainer connected so the recovery process stays on track, even if they cannot meet up in person.
USER FLOW (STUDENT ATHLETE VIEW)
USER FLOW (ATHLETIC TRAINER DASHBOARD)
LIVE PROTOTYPE IMPORTED INTO ADALO
USABILITY TESTING (STUDENT ATHLETE VIEW)
Think-Aloud Cognitive Walkthrough
Task 1: Log into the application as a Student Athlete, acknowledge the prototype disclaimer, and select your school (SFA High School) from the district list.
Task 2: Navigate to your "Incident Reports" to review the logged history and mobility updates regarding your injury.
Task 3: Access your "Plan of Care" and check off the rehabilitation steps you have completed for your sprained wrist (e.g., Rest, Compression, Anti-inflammatory painkillers).
Task 4: Open the "View Care Team" section and locate the ID card and credentials of your athletic trainer, Ashley Jones.
Task 5: Open the "Chat With Trainer" feature to view your message history with your athletic trainer.
Task 6: Locate the "Preventative Care" section to read the recommended safety strategies for wrist sprains.
Task 7: Use the bottom navigation bar to switch between the Home dashboard, Communication center, Care plans, and your Account Settings.
** NOTE: After tasks were completed, users took a survey to rate the app's effectiveness and usefulness.**
USABILITY TESTING (ATHLETIC TRAINER VIEW)
Think-Aloud Cognitive Walkthrough
Task 1: Imagine you just opened the app for the day. Check your dashboard notifications to see how many new messages you have received from both student athletes and their guardians.
Task 2: You need to check up on a patient's current status. Navigate through the dashboard to view your list of "All Active Injuries."
Task 3: A student athlete just came into your office with a sprained ankle. Find the button that allows you to add a new injury to the system.
Task 4: You want to send a care update to a student. Locate the feature that lets you write and give an "Athletic Trainer Report" to your patients.
Task 5: You want to update your account details. Use the bottom menu to navigate to your profile information and settings.
** NOTE: After tasks were completed, users took a survey to rate the app's effectiveness and usefulness.**
INSIGHTS FROM USER TESTING
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Quantitative survey results showed that over 80% of testing participants rated the app's appropriateness for high school athletes and trainers a 4 or 5 out of 5.
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98% of users found the injury management and recovery content to be highly relevant or relevant. This data suggests that the app effectively addresses the core needs of the rehabilitation process.
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The prototype uses a simple, tap-to-check interactive list for the "Care Plan." This allows athletes to easily log daily rehabilitation steps like resting, icing, and compressing the injury without feeling visually overwhelmed.
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The built-in chat feature successfully mimics standard mobile text messaging layouts. This is good because it lowers the learning curve and encourages remote dialogue when in-person meetings are impossible.
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Digital tracking makes sure that physical symptoms, mobility updates, and mental health struggles are consistently documented, which trainers require to provide effective, personalized prescriptions.
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While the app proved highly functional, users scored it moderately (averaging 3 or 4 out of 5) in entertainment value, indicating that future iterations must incorporate gamification elements to stimulate repeat daily usage.
VALUE FLOW MAP
