Demystifying misconceptions about radiation therapy
A guide that uses graphic narrative and easy-to-digest information to facilitate conversations between patients (or their caregivers) and their medical care providers.
*Note : This case study discusses topics related to cancer recovery, trauma, and radiation therapy. Some readers may find the content sensitive or distressing*
Overview
This four month project was a part of the CEBRE series which were initially developed by Prof. Tomoko Ichikawa at IIT Institute of Design with the support ROI’s, Dr. Golden’s team. The previous guides developed were about radiotherapy which covered breast, lung, and prostate cancers. The following guides cover central nervous system, digestive system, head and neck.
Treatment decisions are complex for those fortunate patients and families who have access to care, have health care coverage, and possess adequate knowledge and skill in navigating the health care delivery system.
And external beam radiotherapy is the most common treatment for cancer, yet the process is intimidating and unfamiliar to most patients.
These worldwide-published guides - Improve patient experience, enabling doctors to effectively set expectations while empowering patients to seek the care they deserve.
They are designed to be used during doctor-patient discussions during the initial consultation, before starting the external beam radiation therapy treatment for malignant and benign cancers.
Overview
This four-month project was a part of the CEBRE series which was initially developed by Prof. Tomoko Ichikawa at the IIT Institute of Design🔗 with the support of ROI’s, Dr. Golden’s team at UChicago Medicine.
The previous guides developed were about radiotherapy which covered breast, lung, and prostate cancers. The following guides are a buildup over the previous versions and cover the central nervous system, digestive system, head, and neck.
Impact
700+ Downloads
Bilingual Version
The guides have been downloaded over 700 times around the globe and are being used at multiple radiotherapy clinics internationally.
There are four versions of the CEBRE en Español discussion guides and work is ongoing to develop Spanish versions of the Head/Neck, Central Nervous System, and Digestive System guides during 2022.
Dr. Daniel Golden, UCM
"I like to believe that the collaboration between UChicago and ID has helped patients around the globe to better understand radiotherapy as a cancer treatment."
Our Timeline
Understanding the Context
Secondary Research and On-Site visit
Assessed the existing portfolio of guides and gained context on the physical constraints of designing the guide.
Expert presentations by Dr.Daniel Golden and a resident student at the University of Chicago Medicine also gave us in-depth information about the treatment flow. We also got familiar with the medical terminologies and jargon to dive deep into the primary research.
Attended the Graphic Medicine Exhibit and attend the Virtual Graphic Medicine Chicago Conference 2022 to observe and learn about the role of comics in healthcare and evolution over time.
We learned that graphic storytelling is its own visual language that can be leveraged to display concepts such as time passage, simultaneity, and projection.
We also got a chance to conduct an on-site inquiry with the medical and non-medical staff.
Hover for insights 👇🏼
Our Approach
Stakeholder Interviews
Based on our learnings and back and forth discussions with Dr.Dan and Prof.Tomoko, we started building our interview discussion guides and set out to recruit and conduct stakeholder interviews.
6+ Weeks of Primary Research
which also included recruiting patients who have gone through radiation therapy and are or are in the process of recovering along with the medical staff.
4+ Stakeholder groups
Patients,
Medical Staff (Patient Facing),
Medical Staff (Non-patient facing),
Non-Medical Staff
We began to find interesting overlaps, contradictions, and miscommunications between the stakeholder experiences.
Synthesis and Conceptualizing the process flow
We used the ‘Quad A’ and MLRF frameworks for extracting actionable insights.
Mapped insights into patients' and staff’s Activities, Attitudes, Ambitions, and Anxieties.
Then apply it through the Multi-level Requirement Framework which focused on these insights through the Content level, User Needs level, and Contextual level.
Simultaneous synthesis helped us gain a better understanding and re-frame the guiding design principles.
Better prepare the patients
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Avoid any unpleasant surprises
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Help dispel common misconceptions
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Help them prepare for expected changes
Alleviate the overall anxiety
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Each experience can vary greatly between individuals.
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Build trust by providing a behind-the-scenes look and people involved.
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Identify common sources of anxiety or uncertainty about the process.
Help patients seek care
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Help patients communicate and prompt them to seek care.
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Reduce communication barriers.
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Help raise awareness about the resources available.
We organized site-specific insights into clusters that helped us create a refined procedural map & a 'key concepts' document
This document was our primary reference point when it came to designing the guides. It was an iterative process as we asked for feedback from radiation oncologists while developing them.
Prototyping and Designing the guides
Multiple iterations through reaching out to site-specific radiation oncologists and medical staff for feedback, our guides scored at a 5.4 Flesch-Kincaid grade level.
Hover for insights 👇🏼
Feedback and Iterations
The final deliverables were an 11' x 17' (tabloid) sized three-fold discussion guide. Tested and printed on various ink printers to check for colors and tones.
Learnings and Reflections
Collaboration with Multiple stakeholders
Reflection: This project was a multi-level collaborative experience that involved multiple stakeholders, including patients, families, and healthcare providers. Collaborating with these stakeholders allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the healthcare system and its complexities, and ensured that our solution addressed the needs and concerns of all parties involved. This collaborative approach ultimately led to a more comprehensive solution that better met the needs of patients and providers alike.
For more information feel free to contact me 💬