Introduction
Knowing that someone you love is battling breast cancer is tough. You can only imagine what they are going through. You want to help in any way that you can, but you might not know how to help, especially if they do not tell you. My Warrior's Shield changes that by allowing you to create your own custom task list. Choose from our curated list of things to do and things to say. You can also add in your own entries. You can help your breast cancer warrior in so many ways, and we’re here to help you help them.
Purpose & Motivation
When someone we know goes through cancer or any disease, we struggle to find ways to help them. In our long-term plan, My Warrior's Shield will house a community of supporters for a breast cancer warrior so that we know that we are not alone in supporting our loved ones. For the purposes of this hackathon, our MVP focuses on a very specific audience, namely a child between the ages of 13 to 18. These individuals are still young and care for their Warrior, whether it is mom, dad, aunt, etc.; however, they may not know how, and sometimes, adults may not be forthcoming about their condition with kids. The kids are in this journey with their Warrior and they can help provide support by tracking their mood and symptoms, completing tasks, and identifying things that they can say to cheer them up. Instead of having supporters feel helpless, we want them to feel empowered to help their loved ones fight through breast cancer.
How this application works
To use My Warriors Shield, users can log in with the Google or Facebook accounts or sign up with their email. On the top right, there is a drop down menu where users can navigate between the pages of the app. On the the 'My Account' page of the dropdown, users can view their email and other account details. On the ‘Profiles’ page, users can update information about themselves and their warrior. Since our prototype is for users ages 13-18, the profile shows only a minimum number of questions. For an older group of users, we would ask more questions about preventative treatments such as a single or bilateral mastectomy the user has had, their warrior's treatment, and more. With more information in the future, we hope to provide a more personalized dashboard for each user.
After logging in, users will be taken to the ‘Dasboard’ page. We utilized Wix Data Collections and Member Pages here to create private, personalized dashboards for each user. We drew from these collections to generate randomized recommendations for users on how to help their warrior as well as themselves. We hooked up the checkbox information to the datasets with ‘wix-data’ APIs and added functions so that users can add these suggestions to their personal task list. Users can also use the text input section on their own personal tasks and view them under ‘Active’ tasks. Once they check off a task, it goes to the ‘Complete’ section. This dashboard also features a “Check in: How are you and your Warrior doing?” section where users can rate on a 1-5 scale, how they and their warriors are doing each day. This mood data is then stored in our data collections, which we hope to utilize to create interactive visualizations in a future version of this app. Additionally, on the dashboard are links to "lightboxes", which are built-in Wix pop-up pages with important information for the child of a breast cancer warrior to have. They can view general statistics on breast cancer and the importance of self-care, things to be aware of, what to say to their warriors, and what not to say. We also provide external links to books, financial assistance information, research organizations and more.
How this application was developed
Due to some last-minute staffing changes, we had to scrap our plan to develop this independently. For the purposes of this deliverable, we built our prototype on Wix to provide a sense of what we envision. We used Wix's user-friendly interface and vast component library to create the application. Their JavaScript code editor allowed us to customize the functionality of the components to execute functions which we wrote. We also used Wix Data Collections to create and store the data that our users interact with along with Wix's Corvid APIs to connect our components and data. This allowed us to create a fully functional web application for this prototype.
How to use this application
The user will first need to set up an account to log in. Upon doing so, they will create a profile for their breast cancer warrior so that the dashboard is customized to that warrior. Moving forward, every time someone logs in, they will be taken to their dashboard. The widgets on the MVP dashboard will include several things including a mood (how is Mom feeling) tracker, curated list of things to do that the user can add to their own list, as well as a section for educational resources. The educational resources will include things like fast facts about breast cancer, a bank of suggested things to say and not say, as well as links to other organizations offering varying resources.
Each day, there will be new suggested to-do items that appear on the app. When the user adds an item to their to-do list, they can also add a date in which case they will get notifications to remind them. On the calendar, the user can click on a date to see what tasks have been completed or what Mom’s mood was for the day. The app will also include tips for self-care so that the user can also remember to focus on their well-being.
Difficulties & Challenges faced
Our biggest challenge was having to scrap our original development plan because our backend developer ghosted us. Instead of trying to find a replacement which would take some time, we decided to utilize our existing knowledge which allowed us to pivot to Wix to at least bring our idea to life. However, using a builder like Wix means that we are limited to the existing offerings and set-up. We have so many great ideas but cannot integrate them quickly enough. So we had to modify some of our ideas for inclusion as well as narrow our scope. In addition, we had to reconsider what sort of privacy issues we would need to be concerned with since there is personal information that needs to be collected. On a similar note, we also had to discuss issues of liability. For example, we contemplated including a section on "what to do in case of an emergency" and we were concerned about the implications of offering advice in a life-threatening situation. We decided to shift this to a "task" or "action to do" in a later version of our app, specifically in that a family or community will develop a contingency or emergency action plan on their own.
Go-to-Market Evaluation
My Warrior's Shield is specifically for caregivers, and in the case of our MVP, children age 13-18. That means that our initial target audience will be breast cancer support groups. We will also reach out to support networks and ask for our app to be listed on their resources page.
What's Next
We have a huge backlog of features and functions that we would like to include to build this out further. Here are some things that we would like to include:
- Users can create a warrior profile for anyone (a friend, spouse, aunt, etc.).
- A support network can be built from someone who initiates a warrior profile. For example, a spouse can create a profile for his wife and invite family members and close friends to join the support community. That way, they can all share the tasks and provide data points on their interaction with the warrior.
- With an expansion in profiles, the curated lists will be dynamic and suggestions will be tailored to what is relevant based on their profile. Suggestions will keep in mind what the user can or cannot do. For example, a user who cannot drive will not be shown the suggestion of "drive her to her next medical appointment".
- Since the app will also include some basic information about the user, we will also include reminders for people to get checked or conduct their own breast exams, especially if they are at higher risk (ex. older women).
- The app will offer a message of support and thanks when the user completes a task. This is to keep them motivated and remind them of the good things they're doing for their breast cancer warrior.
Other
Built With
- corvid
- figma
- javascript
- wix
- wix-data
- wix-user
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