Hydrocephalus is a condition where a build-up of fluid inside the skull puts pressure on the brain. Harry’s HAT is a charity which provides information and support to the families of children affected by hydrocephalus.
While they were refreshing their website, the team at Harry’s HAT approached me to have a look over two pages which provide information for two key audiences. One was the information they provide about hydrocephalus to families. The other was information to healthcare professionals about training grants they could apply for to improve the care they provide children.
What Harry’s HAT needed was someone independent who could critique the information on these pages, and someone with expertise in writing health information for patients and their families.
We started with defining the key audiences for these pages using ‘user stories’, and identifying exactly what they wanted to get from the pages in question. Next, I assessed the information on the webpages for whether it met the needs of these users, using a range of criteria we developed together. I also did some research on the information provided by other organisations, as well as search keywords to understand the best terms to use.
Finally, I re-wrote the entire text of these webpages. The hydrocephalus information page now provides clear and accurate information on different aspects of the condition. The webpage for healthcare professionals contains useful and practical information on the training grant scheme.
Harry’s HAT were very happy with the results of the work. Caroline Thwaites, the founder of the charity named after her son Harry, said:
“We were really happy with the work that Richard did, and really enjoyed working with him. He provided us with the ability to look at our audiences from different perspectives, which will be helpful to us going forward.”
Read the full version of what Caroline said about working with me.
It was fantastic to work with Caroline and the team at Harry’s HAT, and I hope the information we created will help them provide the support that families of children with hydrocephalus need.