Minor Project - Task 1
TASK 1 - Project Proposal
WEEK 01 - WEEK 14Aina Ahmed Aleem | 0355701 | BDCM
- LECTURES
- INSTRUCTIONS
- USER RESEARCH
- FAMILY CAREGIVER INTERVIEW FINDINGS
- HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW FINDINGS
- KEY INSIGHTS
- REFLECTION
For Task 1, we were required to develop an innovative project proposal based on a real problem and conduct user research from a human-centred perspective to better understand the needs of our target audience.
Our project focused on family caregivers caring for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. We wanted to understand the challenges caregivers experience in their daily lives and identify gaps in the support available to them.
To gain perspectives from both sides of the caregiving experience, our research involved two groups:
- Family caregivers
- Healthcare professionals
USER RESEARCH
For our primary research, we conducted six one-to-one interviews in total:
- 3 family caregivers
- 3 healthcare professionals
Each group member was responsible for conducting two interviews, allowing us to gather different perspectives on Alzheimer’s caregiving.
For my individual contribution, I interviewed two healthcare professionals from the Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation Malaysia (ADFM): Ms. Jenny and Madam Chen. Through these interviews, I gained professional insights into the challenges family caregivers experience, the support they commonly need, and the difficulties of providing continuous guidance outside healthcare or support settings.
The other interviews included both family caregivers and a healthcare professional, which allowed us to compare caregivers’ personal experiences with professional perspectives.
For each interview, we documented the research through consent forms, audio recordings, and interview transcriptions. We then brought all six interviews together to identify recurring findings and insights that would guide the next stage of our project.
FAMILY CAREGIVER INTERVIEW FINDINGS
From the caregiver interviews, we identified several common experiences and challenges.
Caregivers often have to manage unpredictable situations, including confusion, behavioural changes, and other difficult moments at home.
Some of the main findings included:
- Caregiving can be physically and emotionally exhausting.
- Caregivers may feel unsure about how to respond during difficult situations.
- Many rely heavily on personal experience when providing care.
- Asking for or receiving help can sometimes be difficult.
- Caregivers may have very little time to focus on their own wellbeing.
- Immediate guidance is not always available when challenges occur at home.
These interviews helped us understand that caregiving affects not only the practical responsibility of looking after someone, but also the emotional and personal wellbeing of the caregiver.
From these interviews, we found that:
- Caregivers may lack practical knowledge or confidence when managing difficult situations.
- Healthcare professionals have limited time with caregivers during consultations.
- Many caregiving challenges happen at home, where professional support is not immediately available.
- Caregivers need guidance that is simple, practical, and easy to understand.
- There is a need for better support between professional consultations and everyday caregiving at home.
These findings supported many of the concerns raised by caregivers and helped us identify a gap between professional healthcare support and the situations caregivers manage independently at home.
After reviewing the interviews from both groups, several key insights emerged.
Family caregivers need:
- Accessible support when difficult situations happen.
- Clear and practical guidance that is easy to understand.
- Greater confidence when managing unfamiliar situations.
- More recognition and support for their own stress and wellbeing.
The healthcare professional perspective also showed that caregivers cannot always depend on immediate professional assistance because many situations happen outside clinical settings.
This research gave us a clearer understanding of the actual problem space and provided the foundation for the next stage of the continuing project, where these findings would be further developed into a defined problem and potential solution.
For Task 1, I gained experience conducting primary research through interviews with our target groups. I was involved in preparing the research, conducting interviews, reviewing responses, and identifying important findings that could guide the project.
The caregivers helped us understand the personal and emotional reality of caregiving, while healthcare professionals provided another perspective on the knowledge gaps and support limitations caregivers experience.
I also noticed that similar issues appeared across different interviews, particularly uncertainty, lack of immediate guidance, stress, and limited support at home.
The main thing I learned from Task 1 was the importance of conducting research before deciding on a solution.
The interviews helped us identify the real needs of caregivers rather than making assumptions about what they might need. The findings from Task 1 then became the research foundation that we could carry forward into Task 2, where the project continued through the next stages of development.
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