The Cancer Council Online Community provides all people affected by cancer, a space to connect, share experiences and find information and support in a safe forum.
-------------------------
Company: Cancer Council NSW
Entry submitted by: Kate Fenerty, Amy Howard & Tina Nguyen (Community Manager, Lead Digital Designer & Developer and Digital Project Manager)
Community: Cancer Council Online Community
Lithy category: Digital CX All-Star
We are an independent and forward-thinking community of people, where ideas and charity come together to make a difference in the fight against all cancers and a vision of a cancer-free future.
At Cancer Council NSW, we believe that the enormous capability residing in communities can be unlocked. The greatest impact can be achieved by treating cancer as a social issue rather than purely as a health issue.
Our vision will be realised when lives are not cut short by cancer nor their quality of life diminished. As Australia’s leading cancer charity: we provide support, unite the community, create hope and save lives.
At Cancer Council NSW, we have a vision of a cancer-free future. There are things that we can all do every day to help make this happen.
Every year in NSW alone, more than 46,000 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed, and the impact on families, care-givers and communities is significant.
Together with our volunteers, supporters, stakeholders and staff, we are committed to reducing the impact of cancer on individuals and the community, and to lessening the burden for people affected by cancer.
Cancer Council NSW also believes digital plays an important and critical part in lessening this burden. Hence we have long been in the online space; providing online psychosocial support for people affected by cancer since 2009 when we launched Cancer Connections. Cancer Connections offered anyone affected by cancer, the chance to post their stories in blogs, share their experiences and seek support in the forums as well as hosted a number of online support groups, which were facilitated by Cancer Council professional staff.
- During 2015 an estimated 127,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia [1]
- By 2020 this is expected to be 150,000 new cases
- It is estimated 82,000 newly diagnosed people will search online for information each year [2]
- Approximately 42,000 will visit an online support group forum at least once [3].
Research shows that the provision of online information to people affected by cancer helps them to gain self-control, reduce anxiety, improve compliance, create realistic expectations, promote self-care and generate feelings of safety and security [4].
It was with these statistics in mind, the need for a technologically robust platform and the ongoing popularity of the Cancer Connections community, that the business case to revamp the site was then approved.
The Cancer Council Online Community provides all people affected by cancer, a space to connect, share experiences and find information and support in a safe forum.
Through the Online Community, we also aim to reduce isolation, whether that is caused by geographical, physiological or psychological means.
Starting off
In order to rebuild the site whilst staying true to our existing community members and their needs, significant amounts of research were undertaken by Cancer Council NSW with those very members. We also identified Community Champions, to be engaged and involved throughout this project journey.
We analysed all available data, surveys, Google Analytics, CMS reporting as well direct conversations with the community members. We did this to understand not only who the members were and their needs, but also what they liked and did not like about the existing site and what else they would like to see with a new and improved website.
The Cancer Connections site was thoroughly triaged and user journeys were identified for us, to fully understand the different ways that someone affected by cancer may interact with the community.
A key focus for our Lithium-powered Online Community is supporting the families, friends and carers (care-givers) of those affected by cancer. Often this audience segment can be overlooked, as they are not the one who has the cancer but can still be profoundly impacted. There are plethora of psychosocial issues & dynamics, that this group experiences. Therefore, we ensure we developed specific information and resource for Carers, with links to support services, including carers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
User Testing Time
We used tree testing to conduct the second stage of our usability research. We engaged existing community members, as well as Cancer Council volunteers to assist us with user experience testing. By conducting this research online via treejack, we were also able to engage members of the community who lived in regional areas, ensuring those members of the community were accounted for.
When the time came to conduct the second stage, we reached out to our Community Champions again to participate in several phases of face-to-face testing with us using both wireframes and the staging site.
We ensured our testers represented a cross-section of the community and overall, we were rewarded largely positive sentiments. Any issues that arose, we were able to address these quickly. Having real members from our community assisting us with every step of the testing, ensured we were on the right track of building the right platform for those will use it.
Cancer Council Online Community
While we have adopted a digital first approach to the rebuild and the User Experience, we fully acknowledge our community and its unique needs. A full-time Community Manager as well as a team of qualified health professional staff and volunteers facilitate the Online Community. This ensures that Cancer Council NSW maintains the Online Community’s high-level quality of support and relevant information resources on the platform. This adds to the richness, of each members’ experience in the community.
- [1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2015. Australia’s welfare 2015. Australia’s welfare series no. 12. Cat. no. AUS 189. Canberra: AIHW
- 2 Monnier J, Laken M. Carter CL. Patient and caregiver interest in internet-based cancer services. Cancer Pract.2002. Nov –Dec 10 (6) 305-10
- 3 Chung.J.E.2014. Social Networking in Online support groups for Health: How Online Social Networking benefits patients. Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives. 19:6, 269-659
- 4 Eysenbach G. The impact of the internet on cancer outcomes. CA Cancer J.Clin 2003. Nov-Dec, 53 (6) 356-71.
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.