H003 Empowering the community through enhanced communication: an observational study on tailored information delivery for Huntington’s disease

<h3>Aim</h3> This observational study investigates how tailored communication empowers the Huntington’s disease (HD) community by enhancing their engagement with information. <h3>Background</h3> Huntington’s disease presents many complexities and challenges, often leading to uncertainty and isolation. Despite the wealth of information available on the Huntington’s Victoria website, there remains a gap in tailored information for the diverse experiences within the HD community. To bridge this gap, Huntington’s Victoria developed the ‘Information &amp; Awareness Newsletter,’ addressing the specific needs of all individuals affected by HD and provide relevant and engaging content. <h3>Methods/Techniques</h3> The data from this observational study was exported via Mailchimp. Each section of the newsletter was designed to address the monthly topic from multiple perspectives, ensuring comprehensive representation of the HD community. A total of 15 newsletters were distributed between 2023 and 2024. Engagement was measured by analysing email open rates (figure 1) and click rates (figure 2). Additionally, feedback was gathered from a focus group on the integration of website links and additional video content. <h3>Results</h3> Analysis of open and click rates revealed community members consistently had higher average open rates (48.96%) and slightly higher click rates (4.61%) compared to professionals (open rate: 35.44%, click rate: 4.12%). This suggests active engagement with the content and an interest in exploring links further among community members. Additionally, professionals showed spikes in engagement, with the highest click rate of 15.7% in January 2024, suggesting potential topic preferences during certain months. <h3>Conclusion</h3> By responding to the diverse needs of the community and refining communication strategies, Huntington’s Victoria enhanced the informational content and delivery of its monthly newsletters. This has contributed to consistent engagement, interest and interaction with the newsletter content, fostering greater community empowerment and support.