OC Digital Resource Navigator

Improving Mental Health Resource Access in Orange County

Project Overview

The OC Navigator digital platform improves how Orange County residents connect with mental health resources by recognizing the interconnectedness of physical, mental, and social health needs. By acknowledging that traditional resource navigation is fractured, confusing, and often inaccessible, the platform empowers individuals and providers to find appropriate services through a human-centered approach. Through stakeholder collaboration, incorporating social determinants of health screening, and culturally responsive design, the experience design helps bridge the gap between need and service for the 20.7% of Orange County adults who report needing mental health support.

As part of a larger $18M Behavioral Health System Transformation initiative launched in 2019, the Navigator supports a county-wide goal to serve all residents regardless of insurance status, clinical need level, or demographic background.

My Role

As a design researcher, I collaborated with the Chorus innovation team to develop and implement a participatory design research strategy and user experience design for mobile and web interfaces. I facilitated stakeholder workgroups and interviews to gather qualitative insights that informed feature development.

Confidentiality: This case study's insights and design process reflect my perspective and design approach while respecting the confidentiality of the Orange County Health Care Agency. Specific details have been modified to protect sensitive information while showcasing my design approach.

Project Duration: February 2022 - July 2022

Key Partners: CalMHSA, Orange County Health Care Agency, UCLA

Team: Fas Lebbie, Kris, Bowen Chung, MD, MSHS, Minhxuan Tran

Research Background

In Orange County, 20.7% of adults need help with mental health or substance abuse issues, but only 59% receive the care they need. This highlights a significant gap in mental health resource access, especially for diverse communities. COVID-19 has worsened these challenges, increasing anxiety, isolation, and social issues like housing and food insecurity. Resource hubs have gone virtual, intensifying barriers such as transportation, linguistic and cultural obstacles, and mental health stigma. The fragmented resource navigation system requires navigating multiple agencies, repeating stories, and meeting complex eligibility requirements. Public and private behavioral health systems lack coordination, and insurance networks often fail to support person-centered access and service delivery. Current care models focus on quantity-based measures over recovery-oriented outcomes, creating a disconnect between services and user needs. This fragmentation mainly affects vulnerable populations with limited English proficiency, technology access, or health literacy. Service providers maintain separate, often incompatible resource databases, causing confusion and missed care opportunities. By understanding the journey from recognizing a need to connecting with resources, there is an opportunity to create a more inclusive, responsive system that reduces barriers and enhances access to mental health support. The Navigator addresses this challenge by focusing on individual journeys rather than isolated system touchpoints. In Orange County, 20.7% of adults say they need help with mental health or substance abuse issues, but only 59% are getting the care they need. This shows there’s a significant gap in access to mental health resources, especially for diverse communities. Higher public and private behavioral health systems lack coordination, and insurance networks often fail to support person-centered access and service delivery. Current care models emphasize quantity-based measures rather than recovery-oriented outcomes, creating a disconnect between services and user needs.

Design Interventions

The experience design intervention focused on two primary user groups—individuals seeking services and providers making referrals—based on research insights highlighting the distinct needs of each. Currently, one in five Orange County adults needs mental health services, but many struggle to navigate the fragmented system of resources. To address this challenge, we developed the OC Navigator, which enables users to complete a Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) screener, matches their needs with appropriate resources through intuitive filtering, facilitates self-referrals or provider referrals, and allows users to track their referral progress. The platform achieved a 92% user trust rating while maintaining high data privacy standards.

In Orange County, 20.7% of adults need mental health support but only 59% receive services due to fragmented systems.

Homepage showing resource category icons and needs assessment introduction with a "Start" button.

Insurance status questionnaire with multiple-choice options about healthcare coverage and transportation needs.

Family situation assessment screens with questions about housing stability and employment status.

Language preference selection screen to ensure users can access services in their primary language.

Emotional health screening questions addressing feelings of safety and mental wellbeing concerns.

Results page displaying matched resources with housing options highlighted based on assessment answers.

Detailed resource information combines eligibility criteria, hours, and location with direct contact options, removing access barriers.

Housing category page with resource listings, filtering options, and educational video content.

Mobile view showing usability test instructions and results screen with filtered resource categories.

Mobile view of resource details screen showing service descriptions and eligibility for housing assistance.

Family meeting with a service provider after successfully connecting through the Navigator platform.

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My Approach

My approach centered on participatory technology development, a process that focuses on equity, inclusion, and meaningful engagement of stakeholders throughout the technology development process. My design process integrated core values of transparency, respect, partnership, two-way knowledge exchange, and capacity building. By engaging diverse stakeholders as partners in the development cycle, we ensured the technology responded to local needs while providing custom functionality.

Design Process

Baseline Information

Before I joined, the CHORIS team conducted focus groups and workshops, providing me with valuable data for my onboarding. This data allows us to make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance engagement. Their research revealed important insights, such as one in five adults needing help with mental, emotional, or substance abuse issues. The team also examined how traditional resource navigation often fails to serve diverse populations, especially those facing linguistic barriers, limited technology access, or complex social determinants that impact their health. Additionally, I learned that geographic location, insurance status, and service eligibility criteria pose significant challenges, while cultural stigma often discourages individuals from seeking assistance. In response to these systemic barriers, I based our research on the realities faced by those most affected, particularly monolingual communities, older adults, and individuals with limited digital literacy.

Design Research & Strategy

I used the grounded theory approach, conducting structured and semi-structured interviews with eight stakeholders and four workgroups, totaling 21 participants, to explore mental health resource navigation challenges. We engaged diverse participants, including first responders, community organization leaders, program administrators, and citizens, to capture multiple perspectives. Each 30-to 90-minute session uncovered personal stories that highlighted key insights about the resource journey.

Prototyping & Implementation Strategy

The research identified opportunities to bridge the gap between mental health needs and resource access. Participants reported significant barriers to finding appropriate services, such as lack of awareness, cultural and linguistic obstacles, and transportation challenges. Trust was critical for successful resource navigation, with 92% of participants emphasizing service transparency. Social determinants like housing stability, food security, and social support networks significantly impacted access to mental health services. These insights presented design intervention opportunities for those struggling with mental health challenges who lack the knowledge, resources, or support to navigate complex systems. We proposed a digital platform with two user journeys—one for individuals seeking services and another for providers making referrals. The MVP was built on three requirements: 1) The design must incorporate best practices for usability and accessibility in mental health service navigation; 2) The platform must integrate social determinants of health screener to capture needs and translate them into resource connections; 3) The design must ensure data security and privacy while maintaining ease of use to foster trust and encourage adoption.

Summary of Findings

Prior to the build phase, an initial version was deployed for testing. The v1.0 pilot was scheduled for March 2021, with iteration, improvement, and scale continuing through June 2022. AB testing was done through specific user additional stakeholder interviews, and journey mapping was conducted through feedback loops from testing sessions as well as during the development process.
Implementation focuses on core functionality for individual users—including the home page, social determinants screener, and basic resource listings—before expanding to the provider dashboard and referral tracking system. Each phase incorporated user feedback, particularly around privacy concerns and progress visibility.

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Reflections & Impact

Short Term Impact

Within the alpha phase, providers described how the tool supported clients in crisis, individuals found unknown services, and community organizations saw increased appropriate referrals. The initial resource categories expanded to nine essential areas: housing, financial support, mental wellness, and food security. The design intervention focuses on a person’s whole journey rather than isolated touchpoints, reflects communities’ wisdom, integrates with local systems and partners, and uses participatory development. These principles yielded a platform addressing practical needs and emotional barriers to seeking help, normalizing the process of seeking support.

Long Term Impact

This project’s impact extends beyond improving resource access. By incorporating social determinants of health screening into navigation, we’re shifting how the mental health system considers comprehensive care. The platform provides a foundation for greater interagency collaboration and data-informed resource allocation as part of the Behavioral Health System Transformation initiative. It addresses a universal need for coordinated mental health resource navigation transcending geographic boundaries. As adoption increases across Orange County, the project can transform fragmented services into a coordinated system of care. The participatory approach has created lasting stakeholder relationships supporting ongoing improvement and expansion, ensuring continued relevance to community needs.

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