Maps and mapping services

[sarawilcox]

GOV.UK has a backlog issue for maps, which covers how and when to use mapping interfaces and how to make sure that information in maps is accessible.

Please use this issue to record:

• use cases in the NHS
• screenshots
• your design thinking
• user research and other insights

[cazzzac]

NHS Sussex ICB, 'Book my blood test' service.

Research so far:

Mapping on GDS and NHS services

There is a GDS ticket here https://github.com/orgs/alphagov/projects/43/views/1?pane=issue&itemId=10865691.

[The Life in the UK test example](https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-design-system-backlog/issues/75#issuecomment-437926736) is closest to what we need so far.

[DEFRA](https://github.com/DEFRA/design-standards/blob/master/Maps.md) have defined some mapping accessibility standards.

Third-party mapping providers

[Leaf](https://leafletjs.com/) is a JavaScript library for displaying OpenStreetMap maps on desktop and mobile.

[Ordinance Survey](https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/os-maps-api) provide free maps on a [public sector plan](https://osdatahub.os.uk/plans).

[sarawilcox]

There are links to Google maps from Find a pharmacy on the NHS website. E.g. https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy/results/SW1H%200AZ

Similarly from Find a GP.

[cazzzac]

There are links to Google maps from Find a pharmacy on the NHS website. E.g. https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy/results/SW1H%200AZ

Similarly from Find a GP.

This is a good interim step for providing directions.

Though in this instance we want to help the user find the closest blood test location to them - probably with the locations appearing on an embedded map, along with a list view. This would provide two options for navigating the test locations, with the list view being the most accessible.

[ambchang]

On 111 online, there are two places where we display embedded Google Maps.

1. Helping users find the postcode of their current location The first is in the beginning of our journey where we collect basic demographic information before a user starts their triage. As part of this, we ask users to enter the postcode of their current location, but if they provide an invalid input (eg not entering information), the error screen gives them an option to search without using a postcode - see screenshot below.

If people have location access enabled on their browser, the embedded Google Maps will automatically display the detected location. Alternatively, users can use the search bar (based off GOV.UK's autocomplete component, but re-jigged by our devs) to manually look up a place name, street/road, town, or postcode. While the postcode is the key information we as a product need, the map acts as a visual aid for users. For people using assistive tech, they skip straight from the autocomplete list to the text below the map as not to get 'stuck' within the maps iframe.

During user research, most people initially clicked the 'use my current location' link before manually searching a location. Some people weren't sure how specific a location needed to be, so the content of the page was updated to include the content you can now see below the H1 (the design tested in UR did not have this content). Users also wanted to be able to interact with the map and be able to 'drop a pin' by clicking a location, both capabilities which are now available.

Prior to the addition of this page with its autocomplete function and google maps, we would receive on-page feedback quite often from users who could not find or had an invalid postcode. After implementing this new design, we rarely have any such feedback.

2. Helping users understand where a physical service is located The second place where we have embedded maps are when a user reaches a triage outcome and services are recommended. We only display maps for services where it is advised that a person can just walk in to (e.g. emergency department - see screenshot below).

As can be seen, the map is not shown in isolation, the original design intent was to include the map alongside the address information and distance to help users make sense of where a place was. As we know a user's current location, we are also able to show the location of the service (red pin) relative to the user (blue dot). Sole reliance on the map for this sense-making purpose would be discriminatory to users who have visual impairments.

In user research, people found the map useful. In particular, users who drove were most likely to interact with the map and/or use the 'get directions' link (which would open the maps in a separate tab).

[sarawilcox]

The NHS.UK senior content team recommends this sort of wording, as tested in the NHS Profiles Manager. It's active and short, and makes it clear that the user will be taken to Google Maps.