molida chan



i’m an experience designer exploring the intersection of systems, space, and storytelling.

my work turns complex insights into tangible services and tools that make experiences more humane.

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It Takes A Village

Bridging Language & Culture in Prenatal Care
Challenge
Prenatal care is more than medical checkups — it’s conversations, trust, and guidance that shape the health of both parent and child. Yet for patients who speak limited English, the most critical part of care — communication — becomes a barrier. Misunderstandings about symptoms, cultural practices, or treatment instructions can leave patients feeling unseen and providers overwhelmed.

Our team set out to reimagine how care teams and expecting patients could connect across language and cultural divides. The challenge wasn’t only about translation — it was about building trust, empathy, and shared understanding in the healthcare journey.



Research and InsightsWe began by mapping the current landscape through competitor analysis, interviews, and system mapping.

Key findings emerged:

  • Fragmented services: Most programs provide partial coverage (nutrition, postpartum visits, mental health), but rarely integrate cultural or language support throughout.
  • Emotional burden: Patients described feeling anxious, ignored, or misunderstood during appointments.
  • Provider strain: Doctors and nurses expressed that they lacked both tools and time to address cross-cultural needs effectively.


Existing programs provide medical and nutritional support, but most offer limited or inconsistent services for non-English speakers.



Personas & StoriesTo ground our research, we created personas that captured the real fears, needs, and strengths of expecting mothers navigating prenatal care across language and cultural barriers. These personas helped us design with empathy and clarity rather than assumptions.

Lina’s persona became especially influential. Representing a second-trimester patient with limited English proficiency, she illustrated how miscommunication can create stress, mistrust, and gaps in care. 

Lina’s needs emphasized the importance of clear translation, culturally relevant resources, and providers who feel prepared for cross-cultural interactions.

By returning to Lina throughout our process, we ensured ITAV’s interventions — from communication tools to provider workshops — directly addressed the lived experiences of patients like her.

These personas reflect the real fears, needs, and strengths of expecting mothers, ensuring ITAV’s solutions respond with empathy and respect.


Systems ViewCommunication breakdowns don’t occur in isolation — they ripple across the healthcare system. We mapped stakeholders to understand these layers.

This systemic view helped us identify leverage points: tools for providers, resources for patients, and structures that could scale across hospitals.




By placing ITAV at the center, the map highlights how the service radiates support—from equitable care for patients to workflow tools for providers and evidence for systemic reform.




  Design OpportunitiesThrough ideation and cost-value mapping, three opportunity areas stood out:

  1. Support Providers – Give staff tangible tools to navigate cultural and linguistic nuance without adding workload.
  2. Empower Patients – Ensure expecting parents understand and can advocate for their needs.
  3. Build Bridges – Position ITAV as a third-party service that complements, not replaces, hospital systems.
Mapping ideas against cost and value helped us prioritize feasible, high-impact interventions such as communication cards and provider workshops.




Service DesignWe prototyped ITAV as a third-party service organization that partners with hospitals. Patients are referred to ITAV for support, and the organization provides communication tools, cultural resources, and even care team coordination.





This service blueprint maps the flow of interactions, resources, and systems that enable ITAV to support expecting patients through culturally competent care.




The Toolkit: Our InterventionAt the heart of ITAV is the Cultural Competency Workshop Kit — a hands-on tool for providers.





The kit includes patient, doctor, and extra character cards; prompt starter cards; and reflection exercises
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How It Works

  • Providers role-play scenarios (e.g., a patient struggling to describe symptoms, a doctor juggling multiple priorities).
  • Extra character cards introduce cultural contexts (e.g., family expectations, nonverbal cues).
  • Reflection questions guide providers to unpack assumptions and practice clear, empathetic communication.

This workshop is designed to be lightweight, repeatable, and adaptable across different care settings.


Workshop in ActionPhotos from pilot sessions show how the toolkit facilitates co-design.






Why It MattersWhen language and culture create barriers, prenatal care becomes not just stressful but unsafe. ITAV reframes care as a shared process of communication and understanding.

  • Patients feel empowered, informed, and respected.
  • Providers gain confidence in cross-cultural interactions.
  • Hospitals benefit from reduced miscommunication and stronger patient trust.

Next StepsThe ITAV toolkit and service framework can be scaled in several directions:

  • Expanding materials beyond prenatal care to broader healthcare contexts.
  • Partnering with hospitals to pilot provider workshops.
  • Creating multilingual resource libraries tailored to local communities.

By starting small — with workshops and communication tools — ITAV provides a roadmap toward more equitable, culturally responsive healthcare systems.