(P 150) VISUALISING SOFT TISSUE SARCOMA INCIDENCE DATA FOR PATIENT EMPOWERMENT

Objective: Historically, limited data on the incidence and survival of soft tissue sarcomas in the UK has left patients with uncertainties and a lack of information about their specific subtype within the broader sarcoma landscape.

Recent work by Bacon et al. (2023) analysed soft tissue sarcoma data in England between 2013-2017. This work made available the incidence and survival rates of many soft tissue sarcoma subtypes for the first time and uncovered valuable insights for sarcoma service provision.

We aimed to make these data more widely accessible in an easily understandable and visually engaging format for people affected by sarcoma without a scientific background, and for healthcare professionals.

Methods: We compiled the study’s findings and converted them into a number of visual resources on Sarcoma UK’s website and social media.

An interactive dashboard on Sarcoma UK’s website allowed users to explore and interact with the data. An accompanying website hub provided comprehensive information on incidence, survival, routes to diagnosis and deprivation data for more than 80 subtypes of soft tissue sarcoma.

We also produced several shareable infographics tailored for social media platforms. This includes an ongoing weekly data series which features data for individual subtypes in further detail.

Following the publication of the dashboard, we collaborated with NHS England on a webinar and data story to disseminate and explain the impact of the data to a wider professional audience.

Results: Feedback from the patient, caregiver and healthcare communities on this initiative has been hugely positive. The visual resources garnered a significant number of views and achieved broad reach, across a variety of audiences. The interactive dashboard has emerged as the 6th most viewed webpage on Sarcoma UK’s website since its launch in May 2023.

Our infographics shared on social media have also achieved significant reach and engagement, with around 40,000 impressions as of 20th June 2023. The posts sparked conversations among patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, fostering a sense of community and knowledge exchange.

Conclusion: The active engagement and interaction among individuals demonstrate the value of presenting sarcoma data in a visually appealing and easily digestible format, for patients, healthcare professionals, and Sarcoma UK as a charity.