A breast cancer detection app for women with a migrant background

Digital platform for women to raise the importance of early breast cancer detection and empower to do (self-)breast examination

About

Women from a migrant background often lack access to useful information on the importance of early detection of breast cancer, how to perform breast self-examination, or valuable contact points within the health system for initiation of care. Philips Foundation aims to reach these women by funding a multilingual app developed by Pink Ribbon Germany to provide knowledge on breast cancer detection.

Partners

How

Phase 1 in 2020 focused on the development of the app, including intensive research on valuable contact points for the user, and relevant migration commissioners in municipalities, communes and cities, as well as in the districts and federal states. Phase 2 began in 2021 with the launch of the app on International Women’s Day (on 8 March), followed by a broad communication campaign. In addition to communication, maintenance and measurement of the number of downloads was monitored, and based on that, content was adjusted, and bugs removed for optimization of the app.

Results

The app is live and available in 21 languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Standard Arabic and Fasi. There have been around tens of thousands downloads to date, with an increase rate of 4-5 % per week. Interaction level is quite low, it is only encouraged when it is time for the monthly self examination. When it comes to marketing, the company partnerships approach has been successful. Consumer brands like Chiquita or retailers like REWE distribute info postcards and promote the app with their employees.

Learnings and next steps

The app is highly relevant in the market. This is mainly because of three things:

It offers useful content;
Is provided for free and without advertising by a non-profit organisation, and;
Is not collecting any data about the user.

Depending on budget, additional languages could be added, such as Polish and Romanian. Global scaling is also doable. It will depend on budget availability and capacities to do the necessary research per country to provide local relevant content, which makes the German version so useful and unique.

Corporate partnerships are to be expanded. Companies are very willing to share information on the app. The user interaction with the app should be increased. The app should be exciting for the user and helpful in day-to-day life. For this purpose, the communication will be strengthened via push notifications.