DiaTaste
Bridging cultural tastes and nutritional needs for diabetic immigrants in U.S.
OVERVIEW
DiaTaste: A Culturally-Competent Dietary App for Diabetes Management
At A Glance
As the lead UX designer for DiaTaste, I addressed the cultural disparities Chinese immigrants face when managing diabetes in the U.S.. I spearheaded the 0-1 design of this iOS app to bridge the gap between traditional cultural tastes and western nutritional requirements. My key contribution was integrating an LLM-driven conversational AI that translates unfamiliar dietary data into personalized, culturally relevant meal plans. By validating concepts through rapid prototyping and usability testing, I delivered a solution that drove a 17% increase in ‘recipe generation’ usage and improved user diet adherence.
My Role
UX Design,
UI Design,
User Research, Usability Testing
Timeline
08/2023-05/2024
Team
Claire Huang, Jenna Cao
Tools
Figma, Miro, VoiceFlow
The Impact
0 to 1
Culturally competent healthcare solution leveraged by AI
17%
Increase in ‘recipe generation’ usage
Success rate of critical task flow completion
100%
For many Chinese immigrants, a diabetes diagnosis in the U.S. is not just a medical challenge—it is a cultural one. While clinical management requires strict dietary control, the "standard" nutritional advice offered by U.S. providers often feels like a foreign language.
Problem
"Why Can’t I Eat My Childhood Favorites?": Solving the Diabetes Cultural Gap
Imagine being a native of Shanghai, newly relocated to the U.S., trying to manage Type 2 Diabetes.
You go to the grocery store and see avocados and kale, but you don't know how to incorporate them into your traditional meals.
You visit a doctor who suggests "balanced Western portions," yet your kitchen is stocked with high-carb staples like white rice and noodles that are central to your identity.
Users find that available dietary information does not adequately address their specific needs or cultural preferences.
The Alienation of Dietary
The pressure to endorse new cultural norms while managing a chronic illness adds significant emotional and cognitive stress.
The Burden of Adaptation
Research shows that 1 in 3 Asian Americans with diabetes are unaware of their condition, partly due to a lack of culturally relevant educational resources
The Information Vacuum
Problem Statement + Design Goal
US-based Chinese community with diabetes face lots of cultural disparities with dietary information provided in U.S.
How might we empower them to better manage diabetes by providing culturally competent and nutritious diet information?
Research
We have reviewed 14 papers about challenges faced by Chinese immigrants with diabetes, and we found 4 main findings.
Literature Review
Chinese individuals with diabetes face multifaceted challenges living in the U.S
Cultural difference
Struggling to adopt to new dietary staples; Absence of content related to Chinese culture in the curriculum;
Language barrier
Low Technology Literacy
Low computer literacy
Lack knowledge in accessing online materials
Social Stigma
Afraid of being treated and seen differently by others
Limited Social Support
Limited family & social support upon relocating overseas; Limited community connections and sense of belonging within mainstream society
Ethnographic Research
6 Themes are Generated via Qualitative Coding from Ethnographic Research on the Online Diabetic Platform
Forums
1point3acres (4)
Moonbbs (7)
Xiaohongshu (3)
Dealmoon (1)
Reddit (1)
tuDiabetes (1)
Time Period
2023-2020 (12)
2019-2015 (5)
17
Number of Posts
141
Number of Replies
6
Forums
2
Languages
Chinese(15) & English (2)
User Survey
Validate Assumptions and Hypotheses We Made about User Behavior or Preferences from the Last Step
15/39
Number of Posts
5
Agree to Interview
2
Forums
6
Languages
Age
25-34(7)
35-44 (5)
45-54 (1)
55-64 (1)
65-74 (1)
Highest Education
Undergrad (2)
Master (8)
Phd (5)
Relationship
Patient (11)
Caregiver (4)
Survey Questions
Diabetes Patient
Disease Journey
Management Strategies
Educational Resources
Community Support
Technology Usage
Challenges
Diabetes Caregiver
Relationship
Providing support
Educational Resources
Community Support
Technology Usage
Challenges
Analysis & Synthesis
We Consolidated Research Insights from Two Research Activities with Affinity Map Analysis
Therefore, 3 persona are generated to describe the mental model of diabetes patients, diabetes caregivers, and science influencers on the online forum. Combined with the insights from literature review, we came up with four main challenges as our design directions.
Insufficient Knowledge of US Healthcare System
14/15 participants selected this as one of their current challenges. It’s also one of the most common themes in online communities.
Lack of Motivation
Participants expressed lack of incentive to keep tracking their progress
Cultural Gap
10/17 posts analyzed were questions around cultural disparities, users had a lack of comprehension regarding information within the U.S.
Lack of Support
More than half of the patients don’t request support from their family members nor from local Chinese communities.
Ideation
Concept Ideation
Creating Corresponding Concepts based on the Challenges from previous research
Challenge #1
Insufficient knowledge of US Healthcare System
Corresponding Concept #1
A Step-by-Step Appointment Booking System with Integrated Educational Materials
Challenge #2
Lack of Motivation
Corresponding Concept #2
Collaborative Exercise Tracking Tool with Rewards
Challenge #3
Cultural Gap
Corresponding Concept #3
A tool translating materials into culturally competent substitutes
Healthy Diet for T2D
Find food nearby that fits your culture with similar calories as your search result
location
culture
Apply
Atlanta, GA
Chinese
Whole Wheat Bread
Kevin is an engineer relocated to the U.S. not long ago. One day, Kevin is reading his examination report and found out that he is “pre-diabetic”.
He understands that he needed to change his diet for blood sugar management, so he is using search engine for support.
He then searches for diet recommendations on his laptop. However, he doesn’t like the recommended food such as bread, celery, and granola as Chinese people don’t usually eat them.
One day, he came cross a chrome extension that helps him to find culturally relevant food that is available nearby. It suggests "Mantou" (a Chinese steamed bun) to replace whole wheat bread and recommends Mantou-based meal plan that meets his nutritional needs.
Kevin looks delighted as he prepares a Mantou-based meal, knowing it's healthy, culturally comfortable, and available nearby.
Healthy Diet for T2D
Find food nearby that fits your culture with similar calories as your search result
location
culture
Apply
Atlanta, GA
Chinese
Whole Wheat Bread
Challenge #4
Lack of Support
Corresponding Concept #4
A Community Activity Planning Tool
We have sent out concept testing surveys to test out which concepts to move forward. We have gathered 55 total responses and allow users to rank 4 concepts. With both linear ranking and exponential ranking methods, Concept #3 stood out.
Concept Testing Survey & Analysis
Selected Concept: A tool translating materials into culturally competent substitutes
55
Total Responses
15
Ranking Responses
2
Ranking Methods
2
Languages
Survey Questions
How relevant is it to your experience?
How useful do you think the solution is?
Please rank the concepts from 1 to 4.
SOLUTION
01 LLM-Driven Personalized Nutrition
Leverages an AI conversational engine to analyze individual health goals and cultural tastes, generating customized meal plans that align with clinical diabetes guidelines.
Alternative Meals
Cobb
Salad
Tuna Sandwich
Caesar
Salad
Grilled Salmon
Cobb Salad
Tuna Sandwich
Caesar Salad
Grilled Salmon
02 Culturally Adaptive Alternative Substitutes
Uses semantic reasoning to translate unfamiliar Western dietary data into familiar cultural substitutes, allowing users to maintain their heritage while meeting nutritional requirements
03 Guide Walkthrough
Added guide walkthrough feature to address the painpoints that users didn’t understand the “search” feature and had trouble finding alternatives for a food item
05 Grocery Integration w/ Inclusive Measurement
Streamlining shopping by integrating recipe ingredients into a grocery list with measurement toggles, such as grams and pounds, to accommodate diverse cultural standards.
06 AI-Enhanced Glycemic Insights
Bridges the "habit gap" by automatically converting Western measurement units into traditional culinary metrics, reducing the cognitive load for newcomers.
RESULT
Feedback & Result
Usability Testings through Mid-fi & Hi-fi Prototypes with Diabetic Immigrants and Design Experts
Throughout the design process, I tested the prototypes with 2 rounds of user testings and 1 expert testings to understanding usability issues with 8 participants. Overall, the testings achieve in 100% success rate except in task #2, #3, #4, and #5 shown as the followed.
User Testing I
Format: 60-min Zoom meeting
2 Users:
from pervious evaluation
25-year-old female with type 1
44-year-old male with type 2
Expert Testing
Format: 30-min Zoom meeting
5 Users:
3 with diabetes knowledge
2 with HCI design knowledge
User Testing II
Format: 60-min Zoom meeting
1 User:
from pervious evaluation
30-year-old male with type 2
Product Designer from Apple
User Testing I
User Testing II
Expert Testing
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Task 5
Task 6
Task 7
2/2 success
2/2 success
1/2 success
2/2 success
1/2 success
2/2 success
2/2 success
1/1 success
1/1 success
1/1 success
1/1 success
1/1 success
1/1 success
1/1 success
5/5 success
4/5 success
3/5 success
2/5 success
5/5 success
5/5 success
5/5 success
#3You saved some items in your list, open the list and try the generate meal feature.
#4You are interested in making stir fried cabbage, use research to find this dish then add the ingredients to your grocery list.
#2You frequently see avocado in the grocery store, but you don’t like it; find its alternatives.
#5You are interested in making a Cobb salad, use the app to find the recipe for it and save it to your list.
Before
After
01
Change “Save to grocery list” function to recipe menu
02
Make the icon larger, allow to select items
Before
After
01
Change to common sharing icon
02
Allow users to go to share their meals with community
Next Steps
Future Roadmap: Personalized & Connected Care
I plan to evolve DiaTaste into a comprehensive health ecosystem by integrating personalized glucose tracking to visualize predicted blood sugar fluctuations. By incorporating professional medical advice and connecting the platform with local restaurants and grocery stores, I aim to create an end-to-end experience that makes healthy, culturally-relevant decisions more efficient.
