User persona
Over 90,000 Lady Health Workers (LHWs) serve as frontline health providers across Pakistan, focusing on women and adolescents in underserved communities. Each LHW covers 100–150 households and is typically over 40 years old, with at least 8th-grade education.
Problem
Despite growing responsibilities, LHWs receive little support. Government-mandated annual 15-day refresher training is irregular or nonexistent due to funding gaps. In-person training is costly, low quality, and difficult to access for those in remote areas. Community trust declines as care quality suffers. Low digital literacy limits the feasibility of standard digital interventions.
Adults learn best when their prior experiences are valued, their goals are clear, and their busy lives are respected. We use micro-learning for quick, focused lessons, build a community of practice to create a sense of belonging, and offer reflective prompts and job-aids.
Our design nurtures ownership and joy. Storytelling, emotive characters and micro-animations delight and draw in learners.
Learner Motivation
Motivation is key—without it, learners won’t persist. We designed a system that inspires LHWs to keep going through badges, role reinforcement, a community of practice, leaderboards, and certificates.
Samina: Every LHW's Saheli
The central character of the app, Samina is an LHW herself. She is present on every screen, offers guided tours, delivers motivational messages, and guides them throughout the learning journey.
Features at a Glance
Platform Capabilities
Discussion forums
Leaderboards
Badges
Progress reports
Dashboards
Bookmarking
Assessments in 3 formats
A control panel to upload content Learning Formats
Comic strips
Flashcards
Videos
Branching scenarios
Image hotspots
Interactive images
Infographics
Presentations
Instilling Digital Confidence
While most LHWs are only familiar with WhatsApp, we didn’t want to oversimplify the interface at the cost of meaningful learning. We build complexity gradually: app content is in Urdu, an in-app guide provides support on every screen, advanced features are progressively revealed.
