Aurora Research
For this project, it was extremely important that we took the time to learn about ovarian cancer and cancer care. Our team read blogs, watched youtube videos, and studied terminology to educate ourselves and prepare to interview providers and patients. Below is an example of a video our team watched to situate ourselves in the space.
Through this primary case study, we learned two main things that make ovarian cancer different from other cancers.
Despite extensive research, there is not a screening test for ovarian cancer.
Often times one doctor does the chemotherapy, surgery, pre and post treatment for an ovarian cancer patient. ( This physician continuity is rarely seen in other types of cancer
Interviews
With this in mind, we reached out to three ovarian cancer care providers to talk about where they see the biggest pain points in the ovarian cancer care process. Our provider interviews were semi-structured interviews that each lasted roughly 45 minutes. From these interviews, we learned several valuable pieces of insight.
We spent a lot of time in these interviews identifying possible areas of impact or pain points that could be addressed by design and technology. These discussions illuminated a lapse in support of ovarian cancer survivors. There is a gap in treatment between the appointment in which a survivor is told they are in remission and their follow-up appointment three months out. Survivors often report feeling a sense of abandonment and lack of support during this crucial time in their journey. After these thought-provoking discussions with ovarian cancer specialists, we narrowed our scope to focus on this time of transition. Our team scoped our design question as follows
How might we better support ovarian cancer survivors navigate the transition from treatment into survivorship?
With a newly defined question, we were prepared to interview survivors. At this point, I became aware of the barriers to communicating with patients, and the necessary steps to protect medical data. I reached out and partnered with a local community group, Survivors Teaching Students, and they were generous and gracious in sharing their stories with us. We virtually interviewed 13 ovarian cancer survivors, and interviews lasted anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. The vulnerability and strength that came out during these interviews was one of the most impactful parts of our entire design process. Some of the key patient insights are as follows:
