Developmental screening is crucial for early identification and intervention of developmental delays (DD), yet over 63% of babies in the US do not receive developmental screening, and less than 10% of those with DD receive appropriate intervention. Furthermore, evidence suggests only 50% of pediatricians use a formal developmental screening tool, with most prompting parents for concerns. Pediatricians have limited data points (e.g., limited information on a baby’s developmental history) with a small window to complete comprehensive risk

assessment during “well-baby” visits. Finally, relying on parents for identifying DD is also a challenge. Parents face multiple barriers such as lack of general knowledge about child development, recall bias, and lack of tools for longitudinal tracking of developmental milestones, leaving them ill-equipped to properly observe and raise concerns. These challenges have contributed to underdetection of DD.

We propose to fully design, develop, and pilot test a multi-purpose baby monitoring system and a mobile app to educate parents about child development, flag potential motor, speech, and social indicators of DD, and facilitate clinical data sharing between parents and pediatricians. The mHealth platform, called Platform to Recognize and Evaluate Children for Age-Appropriate Response and Early Detection of Delays (PRECARE), will be designed as an attachment to baby gyms and mobiles for continuous and ubiquitous baby monitoring while serving as a diagnostic aid for pediatricians during well-child visits.

We are looking to collaborate with SpringBoard designers to fully design and develop the initial mock-ups of the PRECARE app and test them with our target users including parents with newborn babies and pediatricans. The inital design components and final deliverables include:

• Customer journey mapping
• Personas for parents and pediatricans
• 3 user flows (one per team memeber)
• Storyboard for 3 concept designs
• Interactive wireframes in Figma

Throughout the duration of the project, learners will receive support and mentorship to facilitate their success in completing the tasks. This support will include regular access to staff time for guidance and assistance, ensuring that learners have the necessary resources and expertise at their disposal.

Learners will benefit from ongoing communication and collaboration with a research assistant from Benten, who will provide a more in-depth introduction to the project and work closely with learners to define weekly objectives. Additionally, learners will have the opportunity to engage with project managers for guidance and feedback sessions to ensure alignment with project objectives and expectations.