Experiences and lessons-learned with the development, evaluation and implementation of 'Hold on, for each other'

Partners of cancer patients often suffer from psychological distress. However, effective interventions targeting this population are scarce. Therefore, the web-based self-help intervention ‘Hold on, for each other’ was developed. The intervention is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and self-compassion training and the main aim of it is to reduce psychological distress and to improve resilience and mental health in adult partners of cancer patients.
To make sure the intervention fits the users’ needs, an iterative and human-centered development approach was used. Several steps were taken to come from the idea of developing an eHealth intervention for this particular group to the actual product, namely: 1) needs assessment (interview- and survey study); (2) development of content material and first evaluation of content; (3) building functionalities and structure of web-based application; (4) usability testing and adaptation of application; (5) summative evaluation; and (6) continuation.
Our contribution to the symposium ‘From science to product: challenges and pitfalls in developing digital tools for informal caregivers’ will focus on sharing our experiences and lessons-learned with the development, evaluation and implementation of ‘Hold on, for each other’. We will provide an overview of the challenges and setbacks (e.g. communication problems with programmers, low uptake in effect trail, time consuming development, implementation barriers), but also the positive experiences (e.g. positive reactions of partners of cancer patients and other stakeholders, positive user evaluations) we encountered during this project.