Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

Co-designing a reduced-dose digital mental health intervention with, and for, people with cancer: Finding My Way – Micro (146291)

Liberty A Barry 1 , Morgan Leske 2 , Julia Morris 3 , Bogda Koczwara 4 , Joanne Shaw 5 , Nicholas Hulbert-Williams 6 , Amy Rigg 7 , Lisa Beatty 7
  1. Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia
  3. Cancer Council, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  4. University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  5. University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  6. Edge Hill University , Ormskirk, United Kingdom
  7. Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia

Aims: Finding My Way (FMW) is a 6-module digital intervention proven to reduce psychological distress following early-stage cancer diagnosis. However, participant engagement is often suboptimal, with barriers including treatment side effects (e.g., fatigue) and insufficient time to use the program. Initial co-design with psycho-oncology clinicians suggested reducing the program to 3 modules to reflect typical participant engagement, while amalgamating key content from all modules to ensure relevance across survivorship phases. This study aimed to finalise the reduced-dose version of FMW (Finding My Way – Micro; FMW-M) via further co-design with individuals living with cancer.

Methods: A qualitative co-design study was conducted with 30 adult consumers living with cancer. Participants were recruited via social media advertisements and cancer advocacy organisations. Participants attended a focus group or individual interview to provide feedback on the FMW-M intervention prototype. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and underwent content analysis using NVivo.

Results: Findings indicate that consumers largely endorsed the current FMW-M prototype; however, they recommended additional content on treatment-related physical changes (e.g., hair loss, weight changes), nutrition challenges (e.g., changes to appetite and taste), and links to psychological support resources. A large proportion of participants suggested including links to the original FMW program for individuals interested in delving deeper into the content and expressed a preference for changing terminology from “survivor stories” to “lived experience”.

Conclusions: Consumer co-design provided valuable insights and has been integral to the program’s development. Findings indicate the penultimate FMW-M prototype is acceptable and appealing to consumers, while also identifying opportunities for enhancement. Notably, consumers highlighted the need for greater inclusion of treatment-related physical impacts, contrasting with clinicians who considered this area adequately addressed in standard care. The refined FMW-M intervention will next undergo usability testing.