Building Member-Centered Research at Ascension Health
Creating shared understanding across a 140-hospital system through behavioral archetypes, journey mapping, and strategic storytelling that drove executive alignment on consumer experience priorities.
The Challenge
How do you create shared understanding across a 140-hospital system where internal employees, patients, and care teams all experience fragmented digital touchpoints?
Ascension is one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States, operating 140 hospitals across 19 states with approximately 150,000 associates. I joined as Senior UX Researcher (contract via Saggezza), reporting to the VP of Digital & Consumer Experience Design, embedded in the consumer experience team working across internal and patient-facing digital initiatives.
Approach
Multiple digital transformation initiatives were underway simultaneously. I operated across parallel discovery and synthesis tracks, moving between immediate tactical research and longer-term strategic synthesis.
| Project | Methods | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Associate Apps | Behavioral archetypes, surveys, interviews | 3 associate archetypes, app consolidation recommendations |
| Maternal Health Nudge Program | Qualitative research, journey mapping | Postpartum journey map, intervention timing recommendations |
| Chronic Disease Management | Patient interviews, service design | Diabetes/hypertension care journey blueprints |
| Consumer Scheduling | Competitive analysis, usability | Scheduling experience benchmarking, recommendations |
Key Findings
Internal app fragmentation created the same friction points associates experienced as patients. Associates juggling multiple apps to complete tasks paralleled patients navigating disconnected scheduling, billing, and care communication tools.
Three Behavioral Archetypes
Rather than demographic personas, we developed behavioral archetypes based on how members make healthcare decisions:
- The Caregiver: Family-focused, others before self, quality directly tied to cost perception
- The Loyalist: Values-driven, seeks preventative services, avoids financial burdens
- The Truth Seeker: Evidence-based decisions, reactive to emergent needs, skeptical
Postpartum Intervention Windows Are Narrow
Maternal health research identified specific intervention windows where nudge-based outreach had highest engagement potential. Timing recommendations informed the digital nudge program design.
Chronic Disease Management Requires Proactive Touchpoints
Patients with chronic conditions described reactive care experiences. Journey mapping revealed opportunities for proactive digital touchpoints between appointments.
Impact
Research Infrastructure Delivered
- Behavioral archetypes informed internal app consolidation roadmap
- Postpartum journey research shaped nudge program intervention timing
- Strategic narratives enabled executive alignment on consumer experience priorities
- Research artifacts became templates for ongoing consumer experience work
Reflection
What Worked Well
- Archetype approach: Behavioral archetypes provided more actionable segmentation than demographic personas
- Executive storytelling: Translating research into strategic narratives created stakeholder buy-in across a complex organizational structure
- Parallel tracks: Running discovery and synthesis simultaneously allowed quick wins while building longer-term strategic assets
What I’d Do Differently
- Connect internal and patient research earlier: The associate/patient experience parallel emerged late—connecting these streams from the start would have strengthened both
- Build archetype validation into quantitative work: Survey data confirmed archetypes but could have been designed to enable market sizing from the start