An interactive resource for clinicians and people living with alcohol use disorder
Sector(s):
Service(s):
The Change
6,200
website visitors in the first month
2,873
views of the hand illustrated and animated videos
850+
media stories about the new guidelines
Reducing stigma and providing tools to talk about and address Alcohol Use Disorder
The BC Centre on Substance Abuse (BCCSU) is dedicated to developing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based approaches to substance use and addiction. An academic centre affiliated with the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, BCCSU is housed within Providence Health Care and Research, and is also affiliated with the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
The challenge
High-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are prevalent in Canada, affecting nearly 18% of people aged 15 years or older at some point in their lives. To address this health issue, the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) and BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) developed the Canadian Guideline for the Clinical Management of High-Risk Drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder (2023).
As these guidelines were complex, running at almost 400-pages long, the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) wanted to transform them into a more succinct interactive resource for both clinicians and people who may be dealing with AUD, as well as their loved ones.
The solution
Be the Change Group collaborated with the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) to create helpwithdrinking.ca, a practical, interactive website available in both English and French. Custom-designed for specific audiences–people who may be dealing with AUD and healthcare providers–the platform offers at-a-glance information, resources, and assessment tools based on the Canadian Guideline for the Clinical Management of High-Risk Drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder.
Those who may be struggling with their relationship with alcohol, or who may be looking for information to help a loved one can quickly navigate the website to understand problem drinking and treatment options. The healthcare providers section features easy-to-access resources and tools for screening, diagnosis and treatment.
To raise awareness of AUD in a culturally appropriate and authentic way, the website features five animated videos we produced. Each hand-illustrated video tells the personal story of an individual living with AUD, supporting a loved one, or supporting patients with AUD, offering guidance and inspiration to others who may see themselves in these stories.
Discovery and website development
Designing the web experience
Following an in-depth discovery process with BCCSU, Be the Change Group created user personas, a sitemap, and a wireframe for the website. Prototypes of the site were user-tested to ensure that its architecture and designs were intuitive, appealing, and easy to navigate for the intended audiences. Our focus groups consisted of clinicians and people with lived and living experience of AUD.
The website features an interactive resource library, screening, diagnoses, and treatment tools, a breastmilk calculator: to understand how long to wait after consuming alcohol to breastfeed or pump and a SAWS tool for clinicians to assess their patients for AUD.
Crafting compelling narratives through animated videos
In addition to providing practical information and tools for the diagnosis and treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder, helpwithdrinking.ca also raises awareness of available AUD resources through the personal narratives of those with lived experience.
To achieve this, we interviewed individuals who had unique experiences of AUD, and produced, illustrated, and animated five videos that tell their stories of living with or treating it.
We were honoured to collaborate with female indigenous artists to help tell these stories.To develop accurate and culturally appropriate imagery to depict their experience, we took the time to get to know them and understand their backgrounds. The resulting collection of videos communicate the impacts of AUD with authenticity and depth.
Tesimonial
“We were incredibly happy with Be the Change Group’s respect for and understanding of people with lived and living experience of substance abuse, as well as the different cultural perspectives on alcohol and recovery. We believe the final knowledge translation project reflects that respect and understanding and we found Be the Change Group to be excellent collaborators.”
– Kevin Hollett, Director Communications & Community Engagement at BC Centre on Substance Use
Our animations
In this playlist, you’ll find the series of animations we made to tell the real stories of people’s experiences with AUD.
CATEGORY
