Hello,
I wanted to say a big thank you to all those who took the time to complete our 2022-23 Online Community User Survey. We had a massive 819 responses, which is almost double the number of 2021-22 (414). It was great to hear from so many of you and find out about your experiences of using the Online Community. I wanted to share a summary of the responses with you and explain how your feedback is shaping the continuing development of the community.
Encouraging results
The results were really encouraging, with most respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that:
- “The community makes me feel less alone” (69% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this statement)
- “Members of the community do not understand what I am going through” (Only 7% of members agreed or strongly agreed with this statement)
- “Members of the community care about each other” (80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this statement)
- “The community is a place in which I feel safe” (78% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this statement)
This indicates that you are generally feeling safe, valued and supported as a member of our community.
Areas where we can improve
However, the survey has also highlighted some areas where we can make improvements:
- “Visiting the Sue Ryder Online Community has at times been upsetting when reading the posts and conversations” 67% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. Although the nature of the community means that it can at times be upsetting, we do want to support you in managing your wellbeing as a member of the community.
- Generally speaking, respondents find the site easy to navigate and know how to start conversations, reply to posts and send private messages.
- However, many are unsure of how to stop watching a conversation (so you no longer get notifications), how to set a profile image and how to flag something that worries you to the moderators. This shows that we need to support you more in using the community features.
How we will use your feedback to improve the community
Over the coming year, we have some developments planned in response to your feedback, including:
- Enabling, “New user tips” to help new members find their way around the site (we have already done this)
- The introduction of tags so that you can find relevant threads and topics more easily
- An, “Urgent Help” tool which can help people who are struggling to find urgent support
- A Taking Care Online resource to support you if you are finding the community upsetting to read
- The introduction of Single Sign On (SSO) which means you will only need one login for every Online Bereavement Support service, instead of needing to remember multiple passwords
We’d love your help with these developments and we’ll be sharing opportunities to get involved.
Thank you for your thoughts
Thank you again to everyone who shared your thoughts – your feedback is important in helping us to improve the community and ensure it’s a safe and supportive space for people who are grieving. Look out for updates on the progress we are making in implementing your feedback over the coming months.