Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Overview
GOAL
Redesign CTCA’s website to act as an information source for patients and showcase what makes them unique in the healthcare space
ROLE
UX Designer, Researcher, Usability Testing (Team of 3 UXer)
KEY PROBLEMS TO SOLVE
Create a single destination for a wide range of user groups with different needs (new patients, care givers, transfer patients)
Establish trust and expertise in CTCA as a treatment provider
Account for changing needs in users throughout their treatment
The project started with interviews and industry research
3 key phases of the user’s journey were identified from user interviews.
In pre-treatment users deal with the stress of discovering they have cancer combined with the rush to find a treatment provider. During treatment the patient’s focus can drastically shift, changing providers mid-treatment was not uncommon. Post treatment is a time of celebration but also highlighted the need for continued support.
The site was designed to have sections that solved each of the unique pain points the user experienced within each phase.
What users looked for from a provider changed from pre-treatment to in treatment.
For example a user’s main driver might be results and cutting edge technology in the pre-treatment stage but then shift to looking for more support and quality of life offerings once in treatment.
Research led into conceptual wires and user testing those designs
The Design
KEY SOLUTIONS
Navigation that supports the key info seeking behaviors that we recorded during user testing; cancer research (I’m learning about my cancer), provider research (I’m looking for help), caregiver support (A loved one needs help).
Created hubs within the site centered around each cancer type. There was a lot of content on the site but users only cared about the small amount that applied to their condition. Each hub tailored information to that users needs.
HUBS
Each cancer type is very different in how it is treated and experienced. Hubs collect all the relevant information while getting rid of stuff the user does not need.
COMMUNITY & SUPPORT
During research it was discovered patients often try and find survivors that are similar to themselves to help predict their own experiences.
The site includes a lot of features to facilitate this. User’s could find the journey of a survivor that had the same condition as them. Community and support was included in the navigation to highlight it was an important part of CTCA’s treatment methods and offerings.
Future Considerations
This was a very information dense site. User testing undercovered a relationship between information density on a page and a perceived expertise of the hospital. The more information shown the more expertise the hospital was perceived as having. However, I think there is exits a better way of maintaining that expertise and managing information density. This work was also done 7 years ago so user perceptions about heathcare and digital in general have likely changed.
Research drives good design
so here is a random fact
Established in 1736, Bellevue Hospital in New York is the oldest hospital in the United States