Target Ovarian Cancer have launched a new Symptoms Diary app which allows women to easily and quickly record any symptoms they’re experiencing in order to speak clearly about them to their GP. The ultimate aim of the app is to achieve early diagnosis, which can double women’s chances of surviving five years or more
In today’s fast-paced society, demanding schedules and conflicting priorities can often cause us to overlook or dismiss any aches or pains we experience. For organisations like Target Ovarian Cancer, the UK’s leading ovarian cancer charity, taking notice of these warning signs could be key to an early diagnosis. On average a woman’s chance of surviving ovarian cancer for five years or more is 46 per cent. When a woman is diagnosed at the earliest stage, her chance of surviving ovarian cancer for five years is 90 per cent. This July, they launched the Symptoms Diary app with the intention of overcoming this barrier: offering women a way to record symptoms quickly wherever they are, and receive succinct and personal advice on what steps to take next.
“The new Symptoms Diary app is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure women are diagnosed as early as possible,” says Dr Sharon Tate, Head of Primary Care Development at Target Ovarian Cancer. “It’s an opportunity for women to become more aware of the symptoms they’re experiencing and speak clearly and concisely to their GPs. It’s also about encouraging GPs to consider ovarian cancer when deciding their diagnosis.”
The significance of building an app rather than offering a printed diary is the prominence of the smartphone in everyday life. According to a 2014 study by Tecmark, the average smartphone user checks their phone 221 times a day. This means that the app can actively prompt women to think about their bodies and symptoms regularly, with the added benefit of being able to record any observations efficiently and discreetly. “Our primary objective was to develop an app that could record symptoms in real time and generate a simple summary of the symptoms that could be taken to the GP. It needed to be as quick and easy to use as possible,” says Dr Tate.
“A single tap on the homepage’s Symptoms Diary button takes the user to the diary calendar, which defaults to the current date. A slick carousel design allows the user to move easily from date to date when required. A second tap takes the user to the symptoms list, from which they can select and save the symptoms they’ve been experiencing. From the Symptoms Diary, the user can then access the Symptoms Diary Report. They can also access this directly from the homepage. Before launch, we circulated test versions of the app to ensure it was as accessible as possible.”
Once the user has noted down her symptoms over a period of time, the app will respond accordingly. “We have designed the app to prompt all users to visit the GP if they’re experiencing symptoms. However, the timing of the prompt will vary depending upon the information the user has logged. If symptoms are occurring frequently, and a user logs a particular symptom 12 times, the app will encourage her to make an appointment. If this alert is not triggered, it will appear once the user has logged symptoms for 30 days. The user can note down the date and time of their GP appointment in the app, and they will be sent a reminder nearer the time.”
Offering women easy access to support and guidance at all stages of their journey is paramount, notes Dr Tate. By displaying a simple call-to-action on the app homepage, Target Ovarian Cancer are able to direct users to a wealth of helpful content including information on GP visits, advice for women who have been diagnosed with the disease and videos featuring the stories and experiences of others.
One of the main challenges with bringing the app to market is that ovarian cancer receives a lot less coverage than other causes in the UK. Public knowledge around the disease is, therefore, comparatively low. For Target Ovarian Cancer, overcoming this means understanding where users might be going for information on their symptoms online, and building awareness there.
“These aren’t women who have been diagnosed with the disease, but who are experiencing discomfort and require symptom-focused information. We’re focusing on building a presence across trusted health platforms, encouraging supporters to share the app on social media and securing national and regional press coverage. We’ve also identified a launch region where we’ll use a mixture of contacts—health professionals and large employers as well as local supporters and campaigners—to disseminate information about the app. At the end of the launch phase, we’ll evaluate the impact and use this to inform our national roll out.”
Download the Symptoms Diary app here.
Written by Estelle Hakner.