Intro
Hello! We are project UNCLOSET, a healthcare website aiming to increase cost transparency and service inclusivity for queer individuals seeking personal health services.
Uncloseted Healthcare creates a platform where LGBTQ people are able to search for different doctors and clinics based on specific search criteria — services they offer that queer people may require the most out of any population, as well as clinicians’ overall attitudes towards queer patients through a review system.
We hope that putting the need for queer services at the forefront will motivate healthcare providers to offer higher standards of care for the individuals who may need it most.
Inspiration
Our inspiration was the critical lack of healthcare resources dedicated specifically towards LGBTQ individuals, especially in relation to the experiences the first-day QWERHACKS presenter shared; how doctors have historically neglected or dismissed treatment options for gay and trans people due to stigma and misinformation and have made their access to medication and hormone replacement therapy extremely difficult. We aimed to help create a means for people to share their stories and aid people in finding the right doctor.
What it does
Uncloseted Healthcare allows users to rate different doctors they have received service from based on their knowledge, compassion, and equitability to inform other users and help them access safer and more equitable care.
How we built it
The initial design was wireframed through Figma. We programmed the web app in JavaScript and React using Visual Studio Code and managed it through GitHub.
Challenges we ran into
We had some difficulty in writing the code and setting up the technical aspects of the project, which caused us to restart multiple times. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience that it provided!
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of our communication. We primarily used Slack to share ideas, feedback, and updates regarding changes to our codebase/website design.
What we learned
We learned how to manage a codebase in a team. Additionally, we learned how to take a mission/vision through the software development lifecycle and generate a website prototype. Within development, we learned how different React components can interact with one another to generate a fully-functioning website.
What's next for Uncloseted
There are a multitude of potential features to add to Uncloseted to improve our user’s experiences, for patients and for providers. We hope to incorporate user authentication with Firebase into our existing prototype, enabling users to view their previous votings. Additionally, we hope to add provider-site functionality that enables providers to notify patients, potentially via Twilio, if they are available and are accepting new patients.
Other features that may benefit patients is the ability to request service fee information from multiple healthcare providers at once with a Quote option, which takes patient insurance into consideration. Additionally, it would be beneficial to track which services are highly requested in order to push for better data collection and research on queer-specific health issues.
We have also included potential designs for the website under the "Project Media" section.
Overall, participating in QWER Hacks was a wonderful experience, and we are extremely thankful for the opportunity.
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