Support for Drupal 7 is ending on 5 January 2025—it’s time to migrate to Drupal 10! Learn about the many benefits of Drupal 10 and find migration tools in our resource center.
By iO on
When the first wave of the coronavirus hit, it became clear that there is a chance that patients will develop (long-term) symptoms after infection. Because it was a novel virus, often these patients did not receive the specialist care and guidance they needed. In the initial phase doctors simply did not know enough about the long-term consequences of a corona infection.
In order to help and support these patients, we developed Coronaplein.nu in collaboration with Longfonds. “The corona virus brought just how important your lungs are into sharp focus,” says Michael Rutgers, director of Longfonds. “We fight for people with lung diseases and for everyone who has long-term complaints after corona virus infection.”
Coronaplein.nu, an initiative of Longfonds & Long Alliantie Nederland (LAN), is the community platform of the patient organisation for long COVID patients. With the creation of Coronaplein.nu, we have made a virtual space where long COVID patients can find information about recovery, receive advice from healthcare providers and meet fellow sufferers.
With 2.7 million visitors, Coronaplein.nu occupies an important position offering support and reliable information for people with long-term corona complains. An intuitive community platform with validated information, Coronaplein.nu offers recognition through peer contact and advice from professionals.
Why Drupal was chosen:
We developed Coronaplein.nu in just 2.5 weeks, which is a record - even for us. That was only possible because we used the Drupal 8 CMS. We were able to draw on everything Drupal 8 has to offer out-of-the-box, to develop a fully-fledged community platform super fast. Drupal 8 also offers a high degree of privacy for visitors and customisation is easy thanks to Drupal's modular working method.
Describe the project (goals, requirements and outcome):
No time to waste
When corona got a foothold in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2020, Longfonds immediately saw the need for a place to connect people with (long-term) complaints after corona infection to find validated information. It soon became clear that Coronaplein.nu needed to serve as a place for information, tips/advice for recovery after corona and stories from corona patients and healthcare providers.
Seeing as how time was of the essence during the early stages of the pandemic, It was of great importance to develop the platform and go live as quickly as possible. We developed Coronaplein.nu in 2.5 weeks, a feat we could only manage by relying on the Drupal 8 CMS and develop a fully-fledged community platform super fast.
A platform to serve user and patient alike
The UX design and digital design serve the platform to deliver a pleasant user experience. Clear design makes it easy to navigate the platform, and visitors are never far away from the right information. To offer people recognition and to make them feel that they are not the only ones with (long-term) complaints after corona, the platform offers them and their fellows the opportunity to talk to each other. Users can share experiences, discuss possible treatments and offer each other support. Low-threshold contact with healthcare professionals is another resource. People can find answers to their questions from healthcare professionals in webinars, through a telephone advice line or an online questionnaire.
Concrete complaints and needs are mapped out and monitored via the platform. This is another important function of Coronaplein.nu for users and healthcare professionals and it is also a helpful way to gain more insight into the disease. It presents us with a picture of the medical and psychosocial problems that we face today, and in the future.
Exposure in numbers
- 3,7 million sessions
- 2,7 million visitors
- 4000+ reactions
- 565+ conversations
- 4.5 minutes spent per session on average
Future ambitions
After delivery of the first version, there was no time to just sit and wait. A broader range of non lung-related complaints were reported. The need to expand the platform into an online community for everyone with (long-term) COVID-19-related complaints couldn’t be ignored.
After it became clear that corona is a systemic disease that affects multiple organs, collaboration was sought with patient associations and health funds, including Hersenstichting, Harteraad, Trombosestichting, Reuksmaakstoornis.nl, MLDS and Hartstichting. Along with this the user experience council experts ensures the input of patient perspectives and intensive contact is maintained with the Facebook group for corona patients with long-term complaints.
Technical specifications
Drupal version:
Drupal 8.x
Community contributions:
The main contribution is the case itself, showing off Drupal 8 as a fitting solution when dealing with challenges in terms of timing. Again, we were able to draw on everything Drupal 8 has to offer out-of-the-box and develop Coronaplein.nu as a successful community platform in mere weeks - thanks to our dedicated developers and strengthened by Drupal's strong community focus. The popularity of the platform has generated a lot of national and international press attention. CNN, Het Parool and RTL Nieuws, among others, reported on the new platform.
Organizations involved:
Team members:
Sectors:
Healthcare
