Case study: How we helped to map the rational and emotional aspects of the migraine patient journey

The challenge

Our client wanted to develop a deep understanding of the experiences and emotions of patients living with Chronic or Episodic Migraine in order to validate an emotional pathway and understand milestones from a patient perspective.

The solution

To really understand both the transactional and emotional elements of the patient journey, we conducted qualitative one-on-one in depth interviews with patients suffering from chronic and episodic migraine via a virtual platform. Our questioning followed the patient journey from experiencing symptoms to the current day and thoughts about the future:

• Pathway to diagnosis
• Ongoing patient journey
• Managing conditions
• Future expectations

We utilised a number of well-established projective techniques based on behavioural theory to help patients access and vocalise their emotions, uncover lesser known aspects of the patient journey, and explore emotional and psychological factors at key time points.

Markets: Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and UK.

The outcomes

Through our research, we were able to help our client understand patients’ underlying emotional feelings and experiences along their healthcare journey as well as the transactional pathway from the patient perspective. By doing so, we were able to identify the challenges around management of their condition and treatment.

In addition to our detailed report, our inhouse creative design team, The Studio, produced an interactive infographic representing the patient journey from diagnosis to progression, allowing users to engage directly with and explore the insights at their own pace to compare and contrast a variety of research findings. At each point, we mapped the rational and emotional aspects of the journey, embedding multimedia to allow users to drill down into the experience.