Case Study
Leveraging Service Design to Expand mDhil’s Health Education Reach
Role: IDEX Fellow
Skills: Service Design, Qual Research (Design, Implementation, Analysis)
Industry: Health Education, Technology
Client: mDhil (Health Education Startup)
Background
During my IDEX Fellowship, worked at mDhil, a health education startup that produced localized health videos. Despite rapid online growth, many high-need users lacked smartphone or internet access. Through service design research—interviews, journey mapping, and community collaborations—I adapted mDhil’s content for offline use. Partnering with ASHA workers, I piloted a protocol that delivered health videos during patient visits, boosting literacy and expanding mDhil’s reach.
Establishing Objectives
1) Overview
mDhil was a digital health education organization that originally focused on a subscription-based SMS model. Over time, mDhil shifted to producing localized health education videos, anticipating rising smartphone usage throughout India. Despite rapid growth in online viewership (over 15 thousand views per day), a key challenge remained: many of the people most in need of health information lacked reliable smartphone or internet access.
My mission was straightforward: “Increase the number of people who watch our videos.” But given mDhil’s robust in-house expertise in content development and SEO, I chose to focus on leveraging service design methodologies to broaden our reach—particularly to underserved populations without regular smartphone access.
Fig. 1 & 2: Original website
Fig. 2: Youtube content
2) Understanding the opportunity
Through conversations with my manager, we identified the core challenge. People most in need of this health information were often the least likely to be connected. This realization framed our project as a service design challenge: how might we integrate mDhil’s content into existing services and touchpoints?
I reached out to 20 professionals from 15 different organizations, including: Mantra4Change, Digital Empowerment Foundation, mHealth Alliance, SELCO India, World Health Partners. These discussions revealed a critical insight: India’s ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) were equipped with mobile devices primarily for diagnostics, not education. This pointed to an opportunity to embed short health videos into their existing patient interactions.
Discovery
3) Stakeholder Interviews & Field Visits
I conducted interviews to understand how frontline healthcare workers and NGOs use technology during patient visits. I spent a day shadowing ASHA workers conducting diagnostic check-ins in local urban settlements. I collected insights from these experiences, which allowed me to identify pain points (e.g., no formal education protocols) and existing assets (e.g., tablets, frequent patient contact).
Fig. 3: Field visit
4) User Journey Mapping
Working alongside the co-founders of Mantra4Change, I developed an overview of the patient health journey for ASHA workers. We identified moments when patients would be most receptive to educational content, focusing on objectives, touchpoints, and user benefits at each stage. I also proposed two potential stages of the patient journey to implement a video/survey protocol.
Fig. 4: User journey and proposed intervention
5) Impact Assessment
As we started to design a pilot program, I worked with the mDhil team and Mantra4Change to identify metrics of success. Because the health workers were equipped with a tablet, we knew we had the capability to create a survey to measure success. We agreed that the two key focus areas would be comprehension of the videos and health behaviors. These metrics would help us understand the effectiveness of the videos, they would also help provide initial data to support funding for scaling the program to a larger cohort of ASHA workers.
Implementation
6) Co-Creation with ASHA Workers
I partnered with five ASHA workers to co-design a protocol that fit their workflow and time constraints. We decided to have patients watch three short (3–5 minute) health videos in local languages on a tablet, followed by a short survey.
Fig. 4: Pilot program overview
7) Survey Development
Immediate Feedback: Right after viewing, patients completed a quick, tablet-based survey assessing comprehension.
Follow-Up Surveys: On subsequent visits, workers administered a second survey to measure retention, perceived value, and any behavioral changes inspired by the videos.
8) Training and Rollout
I trained the five ASHA workers on how to integrate video viewing and survey administration into their existing protocols. I also met with local community leaders, to present an overview of the pilot program and get their support. The program reached over 800 patients living in urban settlements in Bangalore.
Results and Lessons Learned
9) Initial findings
High Comprehension Rates
92% of patients demonstrated a basic understanding of the video content immediately after viewing.
Retention remained strong at 86% in follow-up assessments.
Behavioral Impact
78% of patients reported that the information would help them make better health decisions in the future.
Service Delivery Insights
ASHA workers appreciated having a structured, time-efficient way to deliver health education.
mDhil discovered a scalable channel to extend their video content beyond the digital sphere.
Additional Research Insights
Embedding health education into existing healthcare workflows can significantly increase reach and accessibility.
A service design approach, emphasizing user-centered methods, proved effective in aligning stakeholders around a common goal of improving healthcare education for underserved communities.
10)Reflection & Lessons Learned
Cultural Sensitivity
When the pilot was presented to Partners in Health, concerns arose about the presenter’s attire (a short-sleeve shirt), which some believed might alienate certain viewers.
Cultural context plays a significant role in service delivery—content should be reviewed through a local lens to ensure acceptance and trust.
Conclusion
Through a service design approach—combining user journey mapping, stakeholder collaboration, and strategic research—I created a pilot program that successfully integrated mDhil’s existing health video content into the daily workflow of ASHA community health workers. This initiative brought vital health information to over 800 underserved patients, demonstrating high levels of comprehension and behavioral intent.
The case study underscores the value of leveraging existing infrastructure to expand the reach of digital health resources. Although cultural considerations prevented a full-scale partnership with Partners in Health, the pilot stands as a proof of concept for how service design and research methodologies can drive impactful, user-centered solutions—particularly for populations that need them most.