Cancer Health Advisor
Personalized resources for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Integration with American Cancer Society’s call center.
Project Scope
Interviews, On-site Ethnography
My Role
Lead Researcher
Duration
5 months
Problem & Goal
A patient facing cancer often feels helpless and confused. Understanding and sharing information that is important and relevant to their diagnosis and treatment would empower them in their cancer journey.
Methods that led to the problem and goal:
secondary literature review
on-site visits to Hope Lodge
observation at the ACS Call Center
Focus group with patient navigators
Concept Testing
Competitive Analysis
I created a competitive analysis deck for the team, selecting cancer mobile applications with the best reviews. We had discussions on the different patterns and ideas which gave us both inspiration and helped us understand the opportunity in the market.
The Service
By weaving customer touch points with user anecdotes and product interactions we were able to quickly identify the pain points and opportunities.
Learnings
Interviewing with sensitive or vulnerable populations can be a fine balance between asking them questions vs. letting them take the lead in order to not overwhelm.
After running a focus group with Call Center Specialists, we gave them a presentation of the final product concept, we learned the hard way that after our interview, they were afraid of losing their job. Now, when interviewing and bringing up AI to users, I always handle this subject with care.
Outcome
After this project, we developed a collaborative relationship with American Cancer Society and received buy-in from executives.