The National Stroke Foundation empowers stroke survivors with new digital initiative via Deepend

4th June 2015, is the official launch of the hyper-accessible web platform titled ‘enableme‘.  

Developed by award-winning digital agency Deepend for the National Stroke Foundation, it is an innovative online portal to assist Australian stroke survivors in everyday activities, after formal rehabilitation ends.

enableme is a world-first digital initiative, with ground breaking online accessibility standards; the site settings can be customised to help meet a range of individual needs that stroke survivors may have, including vision, communication and mobility issues.

Alongside its hyper-adaptability, enableme brings together thousands of stroke resources to empower survivors and support their own long-term recovery. It combines information, advice and the ability to set personal goals, while also enabling connection with other stroke survivors, carers and families.

Stroke is a leading cause of disability amongst adults and leaves almost two thirds of survivors requiring assistance with daily living activities. The National Stroke Foundation, along with founding partner The Bupa Health Foundation, identified that many stroke survivors and their families felt there was a void in support after they return home from hospital and finish formal rehabilitation.

Says Dr Erin Lalor, chief executive officer, National Stroke Foundation: “This platform has the power to dramatically improve the lives of stroke survivors, encouraging them to take control of their recovery with the support of fellow stroke survivors and carers in the enableme community.  In addition to bringing together information and resources, enableme is a safe place where survivors, carers and families can connect to share tips, challenges and aspirations. We want enableme to become Australia’s largest stroke community, to cheer each other on to reach their goals and to be there for each other when things get tough.”

Deepend and the National Stroke Foundation worked directly with stroke survivors throughout the development process, using their direct feedback to continually help shape the content and functionality. This collaborative working method ensured the final solution met the unique variables required of such an adaptable platform.

Says Kath Blackham, managing director of Deepend: “Deepend have been working with the National Stroke Foundation for over four years now and we are absolutely thrilled about all that we have achieved together within that time. enableme is the result of the tireless efforts of both the National Stroke Foundation and Deepend working together to create this platform which is the first of its kind globally. We are genuinely excited to be part of such a huge process of digital evolution, providing the National Stroke Foundation with a long-lasting and versatile technological solution that will have a genuine impact in improving people’s everyday lives.”

Technical details:

This detailed level of personalisation across enableme is made possible through:

·         The advanced Accessibility Wizard

·         A highly innovative use of Sitecore

·         Use of the Angular JS framework to load various parts of the site asynchronously

Once the user has customised the website settings to address their specific accessibility requirements, which can be done at any point whilst using the site, they can save these prerequisites to their user profile.

Development Process:

Developed using a shared decision making approach, Deepend employed various adaptive methods to generate this innovative digital asset, leveraging the disciplines of:

·         customer journey mapping

·         user experience design

·         interaction design

·         human interface design

The site seamlessly combines a mix of Sitecore-managed content and user generated ‘portal’ content which is indexed and fully searchable.