Preventative Partners: Transforming Student Healthcare at UT
Understanding the Challenge
Many University of Texas (UT) students struggle to engage with preventative healthcare services due to structural barriers. While UT offers comprehensive health services, students often face challenges such as financial ambiguity, confusing online portals, lack of awareness, and time constraints. These obstacles contribute to a lack of routine wellness visits, leaving students without necessary screenings and health education.
Who We Were Researching For
Our research focused on UT undergraduate students, particularly those navigating the healthcare system for the first time. We aimed to understand their experiences, pain points, and barriers to preventative healthcare access, as well as identify opportunities for improving engagement and usability of services.
What We Set Out to Learn
Our primary research question was:
How might we design a service that improves preventative healthcare access and engagement for UT students?
We aimed to:
Identify the key barriers preventing students from scheduling and attending preventative health visits.
Understand how students interact with UT Health Services and digital health platforms.
Explore opportunities to make preventative care more proactive, accessible, and student-friendly.
How We Conducted Our Research
To develop a deep understanding of student experiences, we used a multi-method approach:
Secondary Research – We conducted secondary research looking at local and national healthcare systems to identify key breakdowns.
Stakeholder Interviews – We conducted 10+ interviews with students, UT Health staff, and administrative personnel to gather insights.
Service Blueprinting – We mapped out the student healthcare journey from orientation to follow-ups, highlighting friction points.
Prototyping & Iteration – We tested various communication strategies, process flows, and digital interventions to refine our solutions.
Key Insights & Findings
Our research revealed five major themes affecting student engagement with preventative care:
1. Scheduling & Motivation Barriers
Students struggle to remember and prioritize scheduling wellness visits.
A rolling enrollment system with automatic opt-in could simplify this process.
"I just don’t think about it until I really need to go to the doctor." – Student
2. Lack of a Healthcare Advocate
Students feel lost navigating the healthcare system and need guidance.
A Preventative Care Coordinator (PCC) model could provide a liaison for scheduling, follow-ups, and answering questions.
"It’s overwhelming to figure out what’s covered and where to go." – Student
3. Communication Gaps & Awareness Issues
Many students don’t know what services exist or what their insurance covers.
Proactive, personalized health communications (emails/texts) could increase engagement.
"I had no idea preventative visits were even a thing at UT." – Student
4. The Importance of Continuity of Care
Students want consistency in healthcare providers, especially for specialized visits.
Offering students the ability to request the same doctor for recurring visits can enhance trust and engagement.
"I really prefer seeing the same doctor for my well-woman exams." – Student
5. Digital Friction in Accessing Healthcare
The UT Health website and scheduling system are unintuitive.
Streamlining digital access points and providing clearer information can reduce frustration.
"It took me forever to figure out how to make an appointment online." – Student
The Impact: Designing a Solution
Our research directly informed the creation of the Preventative Care Coordinator Model, designed to integrate preventative healthcare into the student experience seamlessly.
How It Works:
Personalized Outreach: Students receive an introductory email/text from their assigned PCC at the start of the semester.
1-on-1 Health Planning: PCCs work with students to establish a customized health plan, including scheduling their first well-person visit.
Automated Scheduling & Reminders: Students are proactively reminded about upcoming health needs via email and text.
Health Resource Access: A centralized digital platform provides clear information on insurance, services, and preventative care options.
Student Reactions:
"This makes scheduling my check-ups way easier—I probably wouldn’t have done it otherwise."
"Having someone guide me through the process took away the stress of figuring out what I needed."
By integrating personalized care coordination, proactive outreach, and simplified digital access, the model creates a low-barrier, supportive entry point into preventative healthcare.
Reflections & Next Steps
Looking back, we recognize the importance of continuous student feedback and iteration. Future improvements include:
Expanding the PCC model to serve more students and streamline processes further.
Enhancing digital tools for self-scheduling and health tracking.
Exploring peer ambassador programs to increase student-led engagement with preventative care.
This project reaffirmed the need for embedded, student-centered healthcare solutions—meeting students where they are rather than expecting them to navigate complex systems on their own. By rethinking preventative care through a human-centered lens, we are helping students take charge of their health in a way that feels intuitive, accessible, and supportive.
