Johnson + Johnson
Supporting Hepatitis C patients undergoing challenging treatment protocols.
The Challenge
The physically and mentally grueling and debilitating 12-to-18 month treatment protocol for Hepatitis C patients was resulting in a high rate of treatment abandonment. With no support available to patients during their treatment journey, our objective was to develop a range of services to help patients successfully navigate and complete their course of treatment.
What We Did
We examined the personal, social and medical contexts and experiences of Hep C patients from diagnosis through to post-treatment success or failure in a series of ethnographic immersions. The considerable physical and emotional challenges of both living with Hep C and undergoing a punishing therapy protocol were explored in depth interviews and probes with Hep C patients.
Research analysis surfaced several patient persona groups with distinct support needs profiles. Analysis also revealed how key junctures in the patient journey – beginning with (or even before) the moment of diagnosis – contributed to poor treatment adherence and outcomes years later.
Result
Based on our research insights, we developed an integrated service strategy that shifted the emphasis away from crisis management to one of crisis prevention and improved long term outcomes. This service approach introduced a collaborative process between healthcare providers and Hep C patients to: help patients understand the physical and mental challenges they might face during treatment; assess each patient’s support needs for wellbeing and treatment adherence at each stage of treatment, and; put support strategies in place in advance, through the development of a personalised treatment plan.
Cross-channel service concepts to support patients throughout their treatment and beyond were developed and mapped across each stage of the patient journey. These included strategies to offset the stigma and isolation experienced by Hep C patients, better inform and prepare patients and their support networks in advance of each phase of the treatment ordeal, and build networks of support.
consulted together with: LiveWork