About
CoppaFeel! is a breast cancer awareness charity working with young people to educate them about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and encouraging them to check their chest regularly.
In 2019 Common ran discovery research with CoppaFeel! (CF!) to understand the journey for young people to check their boobs, identifying the key barriers and levers to change. We then co-designed and prototyped a tool with young people who didn’t regularly check. CF! were awarded funding to create the Self-Checkout tool from The National Lottery Fund and it launched in June 2021. Following its launch, CF! wanted to rigorously test whether the tool actually increases know-how, comfort and confidence in checking and has an impact on checking behaviour.
Through 2022, Common conducted a formal evaluation of the Self-Checkout using a six-month long quantitative Randomised Control Trial (RCT). Insights generated from the RCT were complemented by a qualitative panel, to understand more about the user experience of the Self-Checkout and add richness to the RCT data.
Through the RCT, we randomly allocated a diverse and representative sample of cis- and trans- women and non binary people to two groups - experimental and control - and we examined changes after exposure to the tool (or control task), at 1, 3 and 6 months.
In the initial month after being introduced to the Self-Checkout, results showed that it contributed to a significant increase in frequency, know-how, comfort, confidence and the perception that chest checking is important. This positive impact remained in the medium (3 months) and long term (6 months). We examined whether this impact was consistent across different demographic groups and found that, in general, the Self-Checkout talks directly to users regardless of their age, working status, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation.
We were pleased to confirm that the tool acted as a seed for users to go on their own journeys towards ‘getting to know their normal’ and that it didn’t trigger feelings of anxiety about checking. We were also able to identify some areas for further refinement and development, to ensure the tool was even more effective.
“We really enjoyed working with CC on this project. They were professional in their approach but always inclusive and sensitive to our needs. They took the time to understand the key elements of our messaging to help inform the development of the project and worked closely with us throughout the journey, providing support and feedback along the way. The work they did provided us with great insight and has helped us to better understand the needs of our audience. Giving us the tools we need to continue to grow and develop the Self Checkout.” Helen Farrant, CoppaFeel
People
Katherine Jennings, Sam-Saint Warrens, Florence Nolan, Dr Rebecca Bendayan, Sharon Allen, Charley Pothecary
Disciplines
Evaluation, Experimentation, Qualitative research, Behavioural insights, Design insights