Developing a new online tool to build the confidence of people living with and affected by cancer

Macmillan is working with The Centre for Psychosocial Research in Cancer (CentRIC), at the University of Southampton to develop and test a new digital resource. This aims to help build the confidence of people diagnosed with cancer, and those that care for them, to manage the psychological impact of their diagnosis and treatment. We would like you to participate in the development of the resource. The team would like to share a little more about the project...

Hello, we would like to tell you about some exciting research we are conducting.       

The Centre for Psychosocial Research in Cancer (CentRIC), at the University of Southampton are delivering a project to develop a freely available website to build people’s confidence in managing the psychological impact of cancer. The project is called ‘CAN-EMPOWER’ and it is being developed with people with lived experience of cancer, including friends, family and carers, to ensure the website is relevant, engaging, and easy to use.

People are involved in one of three ways:

• Through two face-to-face or virtual workshops, discussing with others their experiences to help inform what the website should look like and the information it should contain. Each workshop is expected to be between one and a half and two hours long. We hope to conduct the first workshop in August 2023, in a location near Southampton. The second workshop is expected to be conducted later in the year. People who take part are reimbursed for any reasonable expenses, and also receive a further £25 per workshop.

• Through taking part in one ‘think aloud’ interview, during which they are shown a version of the website and asked to share their thoughts about it. Think aloud interviews will take place in late Summer / Autumn 2023, they last approximately 60 to 90 minutes. People who take part are reimbursed for any reasonable expenses and receive £25 for participating in the interview.

• Through testing the website at home for a two-week period, and then sharing their views about it. In late Autumn / Winter 2023 people will be asked to test the website in their homes. Whilst testing the intervention people who take part will also be asked to complete an evaluation sheet documenting how often they used it and how they found using it. People who take part in this role are reimbursed for any reasonable expenses, receive an additional £25 for completing the evaluation sheet and another £25 for participating in the interview.

If you want to hear more about the project, including ways of getting involved, please reply to the CAN-EMPOWER team via:

Telephone at 023 8059 6885

Email at CAN-EMPOWER@soton.ac.uk

Thank you for reading about our research

The CAN-EMPOWER study team.