Timeline
September 2024 – Present
The project was a partnership between BC Cancer’s Patient and Family Partnerships team, BC Cancer’s Supportive Care Services team, and the Health Design Lab at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Two Patient Advisors and 40 patient and family partners played a key role in project and decision making.
Together, we explored how BC Cancer’s Supportive Care Program is currently understood, accessed, and experienced. Our aim was to identify opportunities to increase awareness of and improve the accessibility and quality of Supportive Care Services for patients and families.
Supportive Care Services at BC Cancer complement medical treatment by addressing a wide range of physical, emotional, psychological, social, spiritual, and practical challenges caused by cancer and its treatment. Examples include counselling, nutrition services, pain and symptom management, and spiritual care. These services are designed to improve quality of life, guide patients and their families through their cancer journeys, and support recovery. However, there are currently many barriers to accessing these services and a general lack of awareness of what is available.
The BC Cancer co-design project was conducted in two phases, using a mix of virtual and in-person formats for engagement.
Phase 1 began with a province-wide survey in December 2024, aimed at patients and family members across BC Cancer. The goal was to broadly understand people’s awareness and experiences with supportive care services. The survey also functioned as a recruitment pathway for future engagements.
Following the survey, we hosted two workshops: one virtual and one in-person, with 20 participants invited to each. The aim was to understand the survey findings in greater depth, using participatory methods. We discussed their experiences accessing supportive care services and co-generated ideas for improving them. Participants from across all BC Cancer centres attended. Each session was co-facilitated by the project team that included designers, patient advisors, and the BC Cancer team. The phase concluded with a validation session in June 2025, where participants provided feedback on the key themes related to current experiences and future opportunities.
The co-design workshops were designed with safety, diversity, accessibility and inclusivity in mind, ensuring meaningful participation for people who may face challenges with technology or virtual formats, as well as remote location limitations. We aimed to create a meaningful, reciprocal and trauma-informed environment for everyone involved.
Building on the insights that emerged in phase 1, and aligning with the Strategic Planning Initiative at BC Cancer, Phase 2 (October–November 2025) focused on turning ideas and recommendations from Phase 1 into actionable initiatives. As compared to Phase 1’s engagement, that focused exclusively on patients and families, Phase 2 expanded participation to include BC Cancer staff.
As designers, our role was to navigate and facilitate complex dialogues, guiding the approach through creative and participatory tools to enable communication and collaboration amongst diverse contributors.
This project generated key themes, stories, ideas and insights that will inform the future strategic direction of BC Cancer’s Supportive Care Services. Summarized within a public-facing report, the final recommendations fall within three key themes: Awareness of services, Service accessibility and offerings, and Mental and emotional wellbeing. Within each of these themes, we identified key recommendations and ideas, with consideration for both impact and feasibility. By working in partnership with a diverse group of perspectives including patients, families and staff, the outcomes reflect both the needs of those accessing care and system-wide capacity.
Through this project, we hope to strengthen the foundation for ongoing, meaningful patient and family involvement in shaping the future of Supportive Care at BC Cancer and as well as future patient engagement initiatives at BC Cancer.
To read the final project report, Better Together: Co-Designing Supportive Care Services with Patients and Families, click the link below.
