wearescientific - blogs

In the UK, Black History Month (BHM) is observed during the month of October.¹ The first BHM was established in the US in 1976, and countries such as Canada, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland have their own BHM traditions.^2–6 A key objective of BHM in the UK is to recognize the contributions of people of African and Caribbean descent to British society.⁷ It is also important that we use BHM as an opportunity to look at ways that we can create a fairer society that addresses inequalities that affect marginalized groups. Black Britons have historically faced discrimination in a number of domains including employment, recreational settings,⁸ and the criminal justice system.⁹

Another critical area in which Black Britons are often disadvantaged is medicine and healthcare.¹⁰ Experiences of Black people with the UK healthcare system are not always identical to each other. This is partially explained by the fact that individual humans have overlapping characteristics that can affect how they’re perceived: a Black man can face different challenges than a Black woman – even though they may both experience racism. The concept of intersectionality refers to how multiple characteristics such as gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic background can contribute to how individuals are treated within wider social contexts.¹¹ An area where this concept is starting to be studied is the field of reproductive health.

The alarming statistic of Black women being four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than White women in the UK¹² has been cited in several news reports. Maternal healthcare scandals are not new to the UK: Incorrect medical decisions, preventable neonatal deaths, and life-changing injuries were featured in an inquiry that found that in one NHS trust alone, 201 babies and nine mothers may have survived if they had received appropriate care.¹³ Even when inquiries investigate the causes of suboptimal maternal outcomes, underrepresentation of the experiences of ethnic minorities contributes to a persistent lack of insight in this area.¹⁴

This is an important concern to us as a medical communications agency because it is one of our goals to share information that is balanced, accurate, and addresses knowledge gaps where data is lacking.

Adverse maternal outcomes for Black women have been linked to a lack of physical and psychological safety and feeling ignored or dismissed by healthcare professionals.¹⁵ Difficulties accessing adequate care can begin even before pregnancy. There is a discrepancy between successful outcomes for Black women receiving fertility treatment and the birth rates of women from other ethnic backgrounds.¹⁶ The Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HEFA) in the UK published a report stating that Black patients aged 30–34 who receive fertility treatment have an average birth rate of 23%, compared to 30% for Mixed and White patients.¹⁶

On average, Black women are more likely to start fertility treatment at a later age than their White counterparts.¹⁷ Not receiving timely fertility care can negatively affect outcomes: it has been documented that per-cycle pregnancy rates with ovulation-inducing medication can be lower for women who are older than 38.¹⁸ It is also important to acknowledge that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines state that (in addition to satisfying other requirements) women aged between 40 and 42 should be offered one cycle of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) on the NHS. Comparatively, women younger than 40 may be offered up to three cycles on the NHS.¹⁹ If Black women are less likely to seek treatment for infertility until they are older, the barriers to success may not only be health-related but also socioeconomic. A report on 70 fertility clinics in the UK found that the price of one cycle of IVF ranged from £2,650 to £4,195.²⁰ Fertility-preserving methods such as egg freezing are not typically covered by the NHS unless the patient is undergoing treatment for another condition that could affect their fertility.²¹ Cost-related barriers in this arena are concerning, given that this creates a dynamic where underprivileged people are not afforded the same opportunities for family planning and managing their reproductive health.

BHM is an opportunity to intensify efforts to level the playing field and ensure that Black women are equipped with knowledge that will help them make informed decisions that suit their goals in this therapy area. Addressing mistrust and communication issues with healthcare providers will play a pivotal role in instilling confidence in Black women, who deserve an equal chance to build the families they desire.

References:

1. Black History Month: What is it and why does it matter? Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-54522248. Last accessed September 2023.
2. Provenzano E. Bordeaux: Lancement du premier Black History Month en France! Available from: https://www.20minutes.fr/bordeaux/2213947-20180202-bordeaux-lancement-premier-black-history-month-france. Last accessed October 2023. 
3. Boatner K. Black History Month. Available from: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/black-history-month. Last accessed October 2023. 
4. About Black History Month in Ireland. Available from: https://blackhistorymonth.ie. Last accessed October 2023. 
5. RTÉ. What is Black History Month? A new RTÉ series delves in. Available from: https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2021/1001/1250108-what-is-black-history-month-a-new-rte-series-delves-in/. Last accessed October 2023. 
6. Ulysse E. La Guadeloupe associée au 5ème "Black History Month" dédié cette année à Joséphine Baker. Available from: https://outremers360.com/bassin-atlantique-appli/la-guadeloupe-associee-au-5eme-black-history-month-dedie-cette-annee-a-josephine-baker. Last accessed October 2023. 
7. Luc K. Understanding and celebrating UK Black History Month. Available from: https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/uk-black-history-month. Last accessed October 2023.
8. Sutton E. Age UK, Black History Month: 6 inspirational figures. Available from: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/discover/2020/10/black-history-month-inspirational-figures/. Last accessed October 2023.
9. Systemic racism within UK criminal justice system a serious concern: UN human rights experts. Available from: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132912. Last accessed October 2023.
10. Lacobucci G. Most black people in UK face discrimination from healthcare staff, survey finds. BMJ. 2022:o2337.  
11. Center for Intersectional Justice. What is Intersectionality. Available from: https://www.intersectionaljustice.org/what-is-intersectionality. Last accessed October 2023.
12. Anderson S. Wellcome Collection: What Black women do when the NHS fails them. Available from: https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/ZC08nxQAAOAiVsbl. Last accessed October 2023.
13. Gregory A. The Guardian: Baby deaths inquiry points to issues across England’s maternity services. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/30/baby-deaths-inquiry-reveals-issues-across-englands-maternity-services. Last accessed October 2023.
14. Thomas R. Independent: Inquiry into major UK maternity scandal slams NHS for failure to consult Black and Asian families. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nottingham-maternity-inquiry-nhs-risk-b2340562.html. Last accessed October 2023.
15. Banfield-Nwachi M. The Guardian: Conference highlights racial disparity in UK maternal healthcare. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/20/conference-highlights-racial-disparity-in-uk-maternal-healthcare. Last accessed October 2023.
16. Moss R. HuffPost: Black women have the lowest chances of successful IVF. Available from: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/black-women-have-the-lowest-chances-of-successful-ivf_uk_6058ba0cc5b6cebf58d0601e. Last accessed October 2023.
17. Hussain F. All About Fertility: Ethnic disparities in fertility treatment outcomes in the UK. Available from: https://all-about-fertility.com/ethnic-disparities-in-fertility-treatment-outcomes-in-the-u-k/. Last accessed October 2023.
18. Carson S, Kallen A. Diagnosis and management of infertility: a review. JAMA. 2021; 326(1):65–76.
19. IVF Availability. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/availability/. Last accessed October 2023.
20. The Duff. The cost of private IVF in the UK: how much is it? Available from: https://theduff.co.uk/private-ivf-cost-uk/. Last accessed October 2023.
21. Fertility Network. Available from: https://fertilitynetworkuk.org/access-support/nhs-funding/funding-faqs. Last accessed October 2023

In a world facing unprecedented environmental challenges, the urgency to protect our planet has never been more evident. We are standing at a crossroads, where the decisions we make today will shape the lives of future generations. This demands a firm stance from individuals and businesses alike, and we must collectively seize the opportunity to make a positive impact.

The pharmaceutical industry has made some progress in reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions (i.e., direct emissions and indirect emissions from purchased energy); however, the journey towards a greener tomorrow doesn’t end there. The real test lies in confronting Scope 3 emissions – the indirect environmental impacts embedded within the supply chain, including those associated with medical communications and particularly face-to-face education events.

Although they contribute to the improvement of health outcomes, such events also contribute hundreds of thousands of tonnes of emissions,¹ from flights, hotel stays, materials, etc. It’s tempting to suggest a blanket solution of running all medical events online, but we believe that the benefits of face-to-face interactions cannot be ignored, and it is possible to strike a balance between maximizing educational benefit and minimizing emissions. By implementing a climate-friendlier approach, the pharma industry can maintain their events’ educational value while simultaneously saving money, enhancing brand engagement, and demonstrating their corporate commitment to protecting the environment.²

As experts in hosting climate-friendlier medical education events, we have developed a charter, which you can find below, that outlines the various ways we assess and adjust medical education events to minimize their environmental impact. We hope that this list will inspire a new norm of climate-friendlier medical education events, because the challenge our planet faces can only be combatted through mass movement.

By making small changes to the way medical events are planned and executed, we can help to forge a brighter future for our planet. If you require expertise in planet-friendly medical education, please don’t hesitate to contact our Business Development Manager, Alejandro Potes at alejandro.potes@remedica.com.

References

1. Zotova O, et al. The Lancet: Planetary Health. 2020;4(2):E48–E50.
2. Do customers really care about your environmental impact? Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnycouncil/2018/11/21/do-customers-really-care-about-your-environmental-impact/?sh=1e0aedce240d. Last accessed July 2023.
   
   

One of the perks of working at Scientific Group is all employees can take a day’s paid leave to volunteer. This year, the members of the Scottish branch of Scientific Group, Anna and Liv, used their volunteering day to help clear litter from a popular part of the Forth & Clyde Canal in Glasgow. The experience was rewarding and eye-opening, and we are delighted to share some key learnings from the day, with the hope of encouraging others to get involved with initiatives in their communities!

Picking litter requires planning 

We started by contacting our local litter action group, Partick Action on Litter (aka PAL). We initially planned to drive a few miles out of town to a nature spot, but PAL immediately pointed out the flaw in that idea – a heap of big black rubbish sacks, a small car, in the middle of the countryside far from a dump! So, we decided to change our destination to somewhere closer to home, choosing a popular boating lock on the Forth & Clyde Canal in Anniesland.

You can never have too much hand sanitizer

We met up in the morning with a member of PAL, who supplied us with litter picker sticks, rubber work gloves, a stash of plastic refuse sacks, and hoops to keep the bags clipped open. (We’d also recommend wearing tough footwear and packing a lot of hand sanitizer!) After pausing for some photos, we launched ourselves into the task. Over the course of the day, we cleared 200 m of canal pathway, filled 12 bags of rubbish to the brim, had lunch, and took several trips to the dump, before finally heading home for much-needed showers.

Three things you can expect from a litter-picking volunteer day?

First, the number one type of litter we collected was so-called ‘compostable’ bags of dog poo. For those who leave this as litter, take note from our first-hand experience: compostable dog poo bags do not magically transform your dog’s brown pile into potting soil. They break down just enough to let the contents escape, at which point it is still dog poo in a public space. Compostable or not, please put yer dug poop in the bin!

Second, passers-by are very interested in litter pickers! We were thanked by about a dozen people, and someone even stopped us to ask how he could arrange a group litter pick for his running club. Seeing so many folks sharing concern about shared green spaces was both heartwarming and motivating!

Third, an amateur/volunteer litter-picking crew will barely make a dent in the problem. We did a good job of lifting the superficial layer of litter from around 200 m of canal footpath, but there were unconquerable barriers in the form of steep embankments, fences, thickets of thorny vegetation and the canal itself. A deeper clean would have required gardening loppers, machetes, serious PPE, and perhaps bulk uplift and some sort of chemical herbicide. Our efforts made an observable difference, but they were no substitute for top-level environmentalism.

Littering, conservation and the human condition

Taking charge of our local environment was an empowering experience, and it was also highly satisfying to see such a difference in the landscape, while the support from the community certainly helped us maintain our drive.

Litter picking is an activity we would definitely do again, but we’d also like to get involved in other community projects. By taking small steps towards sustainability in our own lives, we can set an example for others in our communities and create a culture of environmental responsibility. There are endless ways to get involved in volunteering, and we highly recommend getting in touch with your local volunteering community.

Litter picking offers volunteers a sense of fulfilment, and is highly appreciated by the local community and, we assume, the local wildlife. By working both individually and together, we can foster bottom-up change to build stronger, more connected communities and a more sustainable future for all.

So, next time you’re about tae fling that Irn Bru bottle in a bush… don’t act like a wain, tak it hame.

In recent years, the terms ‘multichannel’ and ‘omnichannel’ have cropped up again and again in Pharma. And now ‘optichannel’ has been added to the mix. These buzzwords describe marketing strategies that enable you to communicate and engage HCPs – so what’s the difference and how do they influence marketing strategy?

Brand-focused vs HCP-focused marketing

Multichannel marketing revolves around your Brand. It’s designed to engage your customers across multiple channels (such as a website, a video, an advertisement, or an eBlast) by delivering the same message. The aim of the multichannel approach is to maximize reach and touchpoints to promote engagement – casting your net as wide as possible to catch the attention of more HCPs.

Omnichannel marketing puts your customers at the centre of your engagement strategy and is designed to ‘meet your customers where they are’. It uses more than one channel to communicate, but it takes an integrated approach. All content and messaging are designed to connect and work together so that content in one channel relates to content in another, providing a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints.

The aim of an omnichannel approach is to make the customer journey as seamless as possible, allowing them to move from channel to channel easily, without encountering the same information and providing them with information that they want, where they want it. Each experience provides real value and builds on the last, enabling HCPs to continue to develop their knowledge on a topic.

Optichannel marketing: ‘the next big thing’

To further enhance the customer experience and the effectiveness of the omnichannel strategy, you can gather customer data and insights to segment your audience, building different customer profiles. For example,

• Profile A – prefers video and email content
• Profile B – doesn’t engage with video, but likes live webinars and infographics
• Profile C – prefers videos, f2f meetings and remote detailing

With these profiles you can tailor content, building more relevant communications to optimize engagement – this is known as optichannel marketing.

Optichannel marketing focuses on real-time interactions with HCPs to provide the right information, at the right time, via the right channel. It uses data analytics and AI to interpret current HCP interactions and behaviours to then predict the best time and channel for engagement.

Optichannel marketing recognizes that each channel has unique strengths and limitations. Applying an optichannel approach allows companies to focus and tailor content to maximize the impact of a particular channel rather than engaging in a ‘war of the channels’. The result is a more personalized experience for the HCP and a more streamlined and efficient communication process compared with omnichannel marketing.

Implementing an omnichannel or optichannel marketing strategy

Providing a tailored communication approach for HCPs can be met with certain challenges. To ensure success, you need to be able to track a HCP's interaction across various channels, and that's a topic for another blog!

Whichever strategy you choose, consider creating a campaign that utilizes ‘modular content’. Modular content involves breaking your brand messages down into pre-approved blocks of content that contain all the information necessary to support a message (claims, references, graphics). Each module can then be assembled with other modules and repurposed across different channels and platforms to create tailored content, efficiently.

If you’re interested in multi-, omni-, or optichannel marketing, or if you want to work with a communications agency with experience in developing communication strategies using global modular content, get in touch.

Contact Alejandro.Potes@asandk.com today to find out how we can improve your brand’s reach.

On the 24^th of March 1882, 141 years ago to the day, Dr Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). Just over 60 years later, the first TB treatment was developed, and a course now costs less than 10 USD. Despite this, TB remains responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other single-agent infectious disease, killing 1.6 million people every year – more than homicide, conflict, malaria, typhoid and cholera combined.^1–7

Over the last 100 years, high-income countries have witnessed drastic reductions in TB incidence thanks to improved living standards, established healthcare infrastructures and successful Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine programme implementation. On the flip side, low- and middle-income (LMICs) countries are continuing to struggle to make similar progress. Statistics show that TB is a disease of the disadvantaged, and although a degree of progress has been made in reducing TB incidence in LMICs, today, being World Tuberculosis Day, we should collectively acknowledge the significant action that must be taken if we are to achieve the World Health Organization’s ambitious target of eradicating TB by 2030.

Improving detection and increasing diagnosis

A primary focus of any disease eradication strategy must be to identify all existing cases. Between a quarter and a third of the world’s population is estimated to be infected with TB; however, around 4.1 million estimated new TB cases were not reported in 2020.^1,8

Such disparity can be attributed to various healthcare barriers, including a lack of TB diagnostic laboratories in rural health facilities, an absence of a standard referral system to municipal hospitals for further assessment, substandard training and suboptimal standard operating procedure (SOP) design and implementation, as well as a fear of infection that is intensified by hindered access to personal protective equipment (PPE). By providing LMICs’ sub-municipalities with at least one diagnostic facility each, and ensuring staff are offered both sufficient training and appropriate PPE, many of the barriers to early diagnosis can be overcome and necessary treatment can be distributed accordingly, helping us move one step closer to the WHO’s 2030 goal.

Giving precedence to paediatric cases

Children and adolescents make up a significant proportion of undiagnosed TB cases, and this is particularly concerning given that they have a significantly increased risk of disease progression following infection, as well as a 66% higher mortality rate compared to TB-infected adults.^1,9 This subset of patients also typically demonstrate poor compliance with TB therapy and tend to congregate in group settings, which can accelerate disease transmission.

The problem is further exacerbated through the various challenges associated with paediatric and adolescent TB diagnosis, including children’s inability to produce sputum for the purpose of testing and a high patient-to-healthcare worker ratio that puts a strain on scarce resources.¹ Furthermore, in a survey conducted in 2015, the lack of appropriate child-friendly drug formulations was named by country representatives as the most common challenge, and the difficult diagnosis of pediatric and adolescent TB was cited by 10 out of 35 surveyed LMIC countries.¹⁰

In December 2015, WHO and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development collaborated to launch child-friendly fixed-dose combinations for the treatment of drug-susceptible TB in children weighing <25 kg, which has resulted in considerable progress in treatment availability within Europe.¹⁰ If the same strategy were to be applied to LMICs outside of Europe, and pediatric diagnosis were prioritized through various interventions, such as directing BCG vaccinations to children (especially in high-risk groups) and mobile health screening in rural areas, those most vulnerable could be protected from disease progression and transmission rates slowed.

Prioritizing prevention

Interventions that aim to increase preventive treatment uptake are likely to have a greater impact on TB control and elimination than those focussing on improving completion of treatment by patients. Latent TB infection (LTBI), which typically occurs during the time following infection but prior to the onset of symptomatic disease, presents a perfect window of opportunity for disease prevention. Although highly effective, preventive therapy has previously been limited to high income countries; however, over recent years, access has been extended globally.

That being said, implementation of preventive therapy remains sluggish, especially in young children, with just 23% of eligible children under 5 receiving TB preventive care.¹ The same issues associated with pediatric TB treatment translate into preventive care. Additionally, LTBI is diagnosed by the tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay, both of which can be challenging to use.¹¹

In order to overcome such obstacles, high-risk populations, such as those living with HIV or those living with an individual with confirmed TB, must receive timely screening for TB, a strategy for implementation of BCG vaccination of children must be put in place, and healthcare workers in LMICs must be provided with appropriate training and PPE. Additionally, providing cash to LMICs can facilitate the purchasing of necessary testing equipment and ensure access to adequate treatment.

World Tuberculosis Day offers us an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of the devastating effects of the disease while also recognizing the various barriers that are preventing the realization of the WHO’s 2030 eradication goal. By improving detection and diagnosis, prioritizing pediatric cases, especially those with LTBI, and taking steps to improve preventive measures within LMICs, countless lives could be saved, which is why this month, we have decided to donate to the Stop TB Partnership, an organisation dedicated to making TB diagnosis and treatment available for all, regardless of socioeconomic status.

1. Szkwarko D, et al. R I Med. 2019;102(7):47–50.
2. Our World in Data. Homicides. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/homicides. Accessed March 2023.
3. Fact Sheets: Malaria. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria. Accessed March 2023.
4. Our World in Data. Total conflict-related civilian deaths, World, 2015 to 2021. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/total-conflict-related-civilian-deaths?country=~OWID_WRL. Accessed March 2023.
5. Typhoid. Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/typhoid#tab=tab_1. Accessed March 2023.
6. Cholera worldwide. Available at: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/all-topics-z/cholera/surveillance-and-disease-data/cholera-monthly. Accessed March 2023.
7. Fact sheets: Tuberculosis. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis. Accessed March 2023.
8. Asemahagn MA. Infect Drug Resist. 2022;15:1947–1956.
9. Lönnroth K et al. Eur Respir J. 2015;45:928–952.
10. Gröschel MI, et al. Eur Respir J. 2019;28:180106.
11. Harries AD, et al. F1000Res. 2018;7:F1000 Faculty Rev-1011.

As symposia season begins, here are 5 areas that are often overlooked and may be holding your symposium back from achieving its full potential.

So, you obviously need a well-known and respected speaker, yes? Someone to lend credibility to the symposium, to draw in the crowd. All your competitors are doing this, so it must be the right approach.

Except, sometimes it’s not. Not least because often your competitors aren’t just using the same approach, they're using the same speaker!

Take a step back. Start with what you're trying to achieve - your strategy, your messaging, what change you're trying to bring about - and then see whether contracting one of the usual suspects really is the way to go. Maybe you need someone at the frontline of healthcare provision, someone who understands the challenges that you’re addressing on a practical level, who can make the data relevant. Or perhaps engaging early with a rising star better suits your long-term strategy.

 "We want something different – innovative, never been done before… proven to work…" OK. Different can be good, but it can also be a distraction and a money pit. The right format needs to factor in what you're trying to communicate, your chosen faculty, and what you want people to leave with.

A townhall format with several KOLs may suit a new brand finding its place in the treatment algorithm; incorporating case studies can shift the focus to clinical practice challenges; using an experienced chair can help bring out the best in an up-and-coming KOL; while a TED-style talk plays into the hands of a seasoned pro.

Then there’s interactivity. Interactivity is the new baseline - everything needs to be 'interactive'. But if the interactivity doesn't engage, doesn't help achieve your objectives, then it really is just a gimmick and a waste of money. Where many symposia are often let down is when the technology doesn’t integrate easily, disrupting the flow or not allowing enough time to review the results for interpretation to be useful. Interactivity should add value, be guided by adult learning principles, support your strategy, and reinforce outcomes. And importantly, the results should be measurable.

Be wary of the KOL who says “I’ve done hundreds of these things. I don’t need a rehearsal.” Aside from the fact that that doesn't instil confidence about your speaker's engagement, planning and preparation is everything for a symposium. Good preparation can ensure speakers are comfortable with their slides and the key messages to get across, the technological setup, and the interactivity. Good preparation can help drive meaningful Q&A with pre-prepared questions between the chair and the speaker that further builds on the presentation and enhances learning.

What is often overlooked by clients is that their audience will likely include competitor companies, who will not only be looking at the content presented, but also the way the data are presented, the audience number, and the level of engagement. Make sure the content looks good, can be substantiated, and any image permissions have been obtained.

4. Get creative with your materials

An easy way to stand out from the crowd is to engage with an agency backed by a strong creative team. They can help develop eye-catching materials that spark initial engagement and pique interest, and even produce artwork that lives on after the symposium has finished.

Sponsored symposia can be difficult to attract audience numbers, with companies often pairing a presentation with a breakfast or lunch as a way of enticement. Our creative team once designed such an enticing program handout for a sponsored ECTRIMS symposium that we quickly ran out of copies, with many doctors taking multiple flyers for their colleagues. The result was a packed-out symposium with standing-room only.

Engaging with social media can help to expand your digital reach. Social media campaigns can drive interest and registrations to your symposium, while engaging with digital opinion leaders (DOLs) offers additional channels for your data and has the potential to continue the conversation after the symposium has finished.

In a healthcare environment, industry regulators are working to provide clear guidance around the use of social media. While the recent PMPCA Social Media Guidance has provided some structure, social media engagement requires careful navigation and working with an experienced agency can help ensure a successful and compliant campaign.

Discover how we can help your symposium stand out from the crowd. If you’re thinking of running a symposium for your brand, we’d love to hear from you. Our Account Management Team are seasoned pros in planning and execution, our content team have the knowledge and expertise to get to the heart of your data, and we’re backed by an in-house creative and production team who will ensure that your symposium is unforgettable.

Over recent decades, social, political and moral motives have driven employers to encourage a more diverse workplace and inclusive culture. While a society in which access to opportunity is equal is a good thing, the additional effect of diversity upon creativity, the prerequisite for innovation, is a strong and often unrecognized incentive that should further bolster employers’ enthusiasm.

How does diversity ignite innovative thinking?     

Diversity has been shown to be the antidote to stagnant conversations and idea generation plateaus.^1–3 Given that innovation benefits from cross-functional and multidisciplinary input, having a team that is diverse in backgrounds, cultures and genders, and thus experiences, values and abilities, opens up opportunities for conversations that challenge assumptions and rigid ways of thinking.

Furthermore, if individuals are not used to working with people from different backgrounds and cultures, doing so may encourage a more open-minded attitude that is not limited to creative conversations. This can inspire a more collaborative company culture, with individuals discovering a newfound willingness to explore the unfamiliar and accept change. Essentially, diversity allows the limits of uniform experience and bias to dissolve, resulting in an improved awareness of the underlying connections between different ideas as well as enhanced idea flexibility.

This diversity of thought results in reinvigorated idea generation that can be used to maximize customer experiences. For example, if a team is tasked with developing ideas for a certain target audience, having individuals within the team who share values and attitudes like that of the audience can help to ensure that conversations remain aligned and in touch with both the client and target audiences’ needs. Motives and barriers that would otherwise be overlooked can come to light, resulting in optimally tailored end products and marketing strategies.

What is the evidence? 

There is ever-growing evidence to support these ideas. One study found that ideas produced by ethnically diverse groups were more effective and feasible than ideas produced by ethnically homogenous groups.² Another study published in Harvard Business Review found that diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets. Furthermore, researchers have found that companies that are diverse and encourage inclusion are almost twice as likely to be leaders of innovation in their respective industries.⁴

How can the potential of diversity be realized? 

The key to unlocking the power of diversity, however, is knowledge sharing. No matter how diverse a workforce is, and regardless of the type of diversity within a team, it cannot enhance creativity without an engrained culture of knowledge sharing.

To cultivate such an environment, employers must recognize and celebrate the diversity within their teams so that individuals can feel comfortable voicing their ideas. At Scientific Group, our Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Committee plays a vital role in ensuring all staff feel appreciated, empowered and perhaps most importantly, listened to. With the EDI team’s help, our workforce’s diversity is celebrated through various means, from education about different cultures to recognition of religious holidays in internal and external company communications.

In summary   

There are many reasons to celebrate diversity in the workplace, with improved creativity being just one of them. By forming inclusive working environments in which sharing knowledge and experiences is standard, employers can maximize their employees’ creative potential while contributing to the formation of a fairer, more accepting world that celebrates difference and combats ignorance.

 References

1. 1. https://www.upmpulp.com/articles/pulp/21/diversity-and-inclusion/
   2. McLeod PL et al. Small Group Research. 1996;27(2):248–264.
   3. https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation
   4. https://joshbersin.com/2015/12/why-diversity-and-inclusion-will-be-a-top-priority-for-2016/

Slide decks are something of a staple in med comms and come in all shapes and sizes ‒ long, short, simple, and all too often, rather complicated. At Scientific Group we are often tasked with creating eye-catching decks from scratch, or transforming dull complicated slides into punchy, engaging ones that will capture an audience’s attention, and keep it. This can be challenging, even for seasoned PowerPoint users, especially when you factor in diverse therapy areas, products and audiences, and throw the odd tight deadline on top.

So, to help you produce slides that will ‘wow’ your audience and make best use of your time, we have compiled our top tips for creating awesome slides.

This may sound a little contrived as a starting point, but if you’re sculpting a slide deck worthy of Michelangelo, PowerPoint is your chisel, and you need to know how to use it – the finer details of ‘David’ weren’t crafted with the handle!

Learning the functionality of PowerPoint is an ongoing process, and something everyone who creates slide decks should dedicate time to, no matter their experience. At Scientific Group, we run regular PowerPoint training sessions, both for newer and ‘advanced’ users, and allocate time for ‘tips and tricks’ (for PowerPoint or anything else!) at weekly team meetings.

So get comfortable with those slide masters, advanced animations, shortcuts, and all those other tools that will make the job easier.

Before you even open PowerPoint, there are some key details you need to establish:

• What is the aim of the slide deck?
• Who is the audience?
• How will it be used and in what setting?
• How long is the presentation (or, how many slides are needed)?
• What is the required style?
  

These questions will help you to understand everything from the language you should use to the best visuals to employ and potential compliance issues that may arise.

Whether it’s a full ‘skeleton’ or just a 5-minute sketch in your notepad, if you’re creating a deck from scratch, plan it from start to finish! This will help ensure that you don’t leave out any key information and allow you to order the content so that it flows well and tells a compelling story that’s easy to present.

You might have noticed that we are almost at tip number four and we haven’t even mentioned content! I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to spend real time preparing to start work on a slide deck, and you shouldn’t be afraid to make it known if this is the case. You know what they say about those who fail to prepare…

Style guides can be long, boring and tricky to navigate, but they aren’t just there to adorn your desktop. Keep the style guide open for quick reference when working on a deck, and if you have any doubt on style or language, look it up. This applies to the visual elements of your slides as well; ensure graphs and tables are placed consistently on slides, color palettes are adhered to, and image and icon styles match. If you aren’t working with a style guide, it’s up to you to set the standard – pick a way of doing something and stick to it. If you’re working with colleagues on a slide deck, make sure they know to do it the same way too.

In med comms, we are regularly tasked with distilling very complex science into clear, straightforward messages. With so much information swirling around, your slides can quickly become dizzying labyrinths, dense with data and festooned with footnotes.

Having too much information on one slide is not beneficial to end users; readers will struggle to absorb messages from slides that stray too far from the key points, while live presenters and their audiences will struggle to read small, cramped text, or even finish reading a slide before it’s time to move onto the next one.

If a slide is looking particularly busy and you’re struggling to find anything that can be cut, consider spreading the information over two slides or splitting up key points. Don’t forget about the speaker notes ‒ unlike your space-limited slide, you can elaborate as much as you like in the speaker notes.

If you’re really in a bind and need to keep every little detail on an overly busy slide, consider techniques to draw attention to the core message of the slide – highlight key data or information, or introduce an animated build that finishes with a simpler takeaway.

Even if your slides are simple, if you present a deck made up of only titles and bullet points, you will quickly lose the interest of your audience. Choose different ways to present the information on your slides to keep viewers engaged – text boxes, diagrams, flow charts, images, and icons can all help break up text and create visually stimulating slides.

Slides can very easily become formulaic and monotonous. Sometimes that’s a good thing, it lets us easily compare similar data, for example. But you may be looking for something a little more exciting for your slide deck; you have probably heard buzzwords such as ‘sexier’, ‘more impactful’, or ‘something I haven’t seen before’. So, how do you make a sequence of boxes on a screen really come to life?

Look for inspiration in other types of media. This can be anything, from a TV advert to a social media influencer to a newspaper front page (remember those?). A personal favorite of mine is to explore data visualization websites where you might come across the perfect style to spice up your graphs, or even find a new way of looking at the data entirely!

This is also a good way to involve your colleagues – other people on your team might have worked on projects that can guide you, or if you work with a creative team, ask them for their thoughts and where they look for inspiration.

Accuracy is perhaps the most important aspect of med comms; and despite our best efforts, we all make mistakes. Having someone else review your work provides a safety net for any errors that may have slipped through. In addition, a reviewer can offer fresh perspectives on your work and may have suggestions on how to improve your approach. At Scientific Group, we use a peer-to-peer review system as well as senior sign-off to ensure accuracy and consistency.

If you are going to be presenting your slide deck (or even if you’re not!), you should spend time doing a few practice runs. This will quickly help you pick up how well your story flows, where you might have too much information, or where your supporting slides may be a little sparse and need beefing up. If you can present it to someone, they can help you with this feedback, or, if you’re shy, record yourself presenting and watch it back (while thinking: ‘Do I really sound like that!?’)

Hopefully these tips have got you well on your way to creating that knock-out slide deck, but if you still feel you don’t know your aspect ratio from your elbow connector, perhaps it’s time to call in the professionals at Scientific Group – our team would be delighted to talk to you about all your slide deck needs, and how we can help you.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that is associated with selective destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet b-cells. Islet-specific autoantibodies can be detected years or even decades before the onset of clinical disease, and destruction of islet cells ‒ predominantly mediated by autoreactive T lymphocytes ‒ also starts during the asymptomatic phase. The rate of progression to full-blown clinical disease depends on multiple factors including age, sex and HLA genotype of the individual.¹ 

This prediabetic, asymptomatic phase, particularly in those more susceptible individuals, represents a potential ‘window’ during which  the immune response can be manipulated to prevent or delay b-cell loss.² 

In the pathogenesis of T1D, there is an incredibly complex interplay between various components of the innate and adaptive immune systems, and a variety of non-insulin, immune-targeting approaches have been tested, including restoring self‑tolerance to pancreatic b-cell autoantigens.^3,4 

 An immunomodulation approach  

CD3 was identified as a component of the T cell receptor in the late 1970s, and subsequent experiments with the anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) OKT3 (Ortho Kung T3) showed that it prevented cytotoxic T cell binding to target cells, via disruption of the TCR-MHC interaction.^5,6 This mAb went on to be widely used for prevention of acute graft rejection. Later, anti-CD3 mAbs were found to induce regulatory T cells (Tregs) and support maintenance of tolerance in graft recipients.⁷  

The early anti-CD3 treatment was not without its problems, however; specifically, a potentially fatal cytokine-release syndrome. This acute systemic inflammatory response was associated with the mitogenic activity of anti-CD3 and release of proinflammatory cytokines including TNF-α. This was dependent on binding of the Fc portion of the anti-CD3 mAb, in an antigen-non-specific manner, to monocyte/macrophage FcgR.⁸ A mitigation strategy for this toxicity was to engineer FcR non-binding anti-CD3 mAbs.⁹ 

Observation of the immunosuppressive properties of anti-CD3 mAbs in transplantation tolerance led to research into potential utility of this treatment approach in autoimmune diseases, including in diabetes. Murine studies in the mid-1990s demonstrated prevention of onset as well as durable remission of established diabetes with an anti-CD3 approach,¹⁰ and subsequent human studies have shown improved metabolic control, preservation of C-peptide (a marker of residual b-cell function) levels, and, significantly, delayed progression to clinical disease.¹¹ 

Immune pathways targeted by anti-CD3  

The early studies with anti-CD3 mAbs showed disruption of the TCR-MHC interaction, and indeed disappearance of the CD3/TCR from the cell surface, inhibiting pathogenic T cells' ability to recognize the B-cell antigens. Induction of T cell anergy and apoptosis through anti-CD3 mAb-induced signalling can also occur via the CD3/TCR complex. A longer-lasting effect of an anti-CD3 approach is the induction of tolerance, and release of TGF-b by macrophages during phagocytosis of apoptotic pathogenic T cells is an important trigger. TGF-b can induce expansion of regulatory T cells as well as promote a more tolerogenic phenotype of antigen-presenting cells.^12,13  

Why is an immune-targeting approach appealing?   

In T1D, a delay in progression to clinical disease is of considerable clinical importance given the challenges of daily management of the condition and long-term complications.¹⁴ The worldwide prevalence of T1D in 2021 was approximately 8.4 million, predicted to increase to 13.5–17.4 million by 2040, with the disease burden expected to worsen.¹⁵ Immune-targeting agents that delay the onset of T1D ‒ even by a few years ‒ could have a considerable impact on this projected worsening, not to mention improving the lives of individuals with T1D: “And this matters ‒ each day without type 1 diabetes counts.”¹⁴ It also begs the question of whether enhanced screening for T1D, especially in high-risk individuals, should now be a priority for health systems.¹⁶ 

Another question extends the discussion beyond diabetes ‒ would this approach work in other autoimmune diseases? Anti-CD3 mAbs have been trialed in inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis,¹³ so there is undoubtedly more to uncover for this approach.  

References 

1. Ziegler AG, et al. Seroconversion to multiple islet autoantibodies and risk of progression to diabetes in children. JAMA. 2013;309:2473-2479. 
2. Ilonen J, et al. The heterogeneous pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2019;15(11):635-650. 
3. Erdem N, et al. Breaking and restoring immune tolerance to pancreatic beta-cells in type 1 diabetes. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2021;28:397-403.  
4. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-drug-can-delay-onset-type-1-diabetes (Accessed November 2022).
5. Reinherz EL, et al. A monoclonal antibody blocking human T cell function. Eur J Immunol. 1980;10:758-762. 
6. Gaglia J, Kissler S. Anti-CD3 Antibody for the Prevention of Type 1 Diabetes: A Story of Perseverance. Biochemistry. 2019;58:4107-4111. 
7. Waldmann H, Cobbold S. Regulating the immune response to transplants. a role for CD4+ regulatory cells? Immunity. 2001;14(4):399-406. 
8. Vossen AC, et al. Fc receptor binding of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies is not essential for immunosuppression, but triggers cytokine-related side effects. Eur J Immunol. 1995;25:1492-1496. 
9. Woodle ES, et al. Phase I trial of a humanized, Fc receptor nonbinding OKT3 antibody, huOKT3gamma1(Ala-Ala) in the treatment of acute renal allograft rejection. Transplantation. 1999;68:608-616. 
10. Chatenoud L, et al. Anti-CD3 antibody induces long-term remission of overt autoimmunity in nonobese diabetic mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1994;91(1):123-127. 
11. Herold KC, et al; Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Study Group. An Anti-CD3 Antibody, Teplizumab, in Relatives at Risk for Type 1 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2019;381:603-613. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2020;382(6):586.
12. Chatenoud L. Immune therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus-what is unique about anti-CD3 antibodies? Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2010;6(3):149-157. 
13. Kuhn C, Weiner HL. Therapeutic anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies: from bench to bedside. Immunotherapy. 2016;8:889-906.  
14. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/first-treatment-delay-type-1-diabetes-teplizumab-licensed-us (Accessed November 2022).
15. Gregory GA, et al; International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas Type 1 Diabetes in Adults Special Interest Group, Magliano DJ, Maniam J, Orchard TJ, Rai P, Ogle GD. Global incidence, prevalence, and mortality of type 1 diabetes in 2021 with projection to 2040: a modelling study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2022;10:741-760. 
16. Besser REJ, et al. General population screening for childhood type 1 diabetes: is it time for a UK strategy? Arch Dis Child. 2022;107:790-795.  

December 1st is World Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Day. The occasion is observed to raise awareness of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), support the 38 million+ HIV-infected people around the world, and commemorate the lives of people who have died of AIDS.^1–3 

Since being established in 1988, following the consensus reached by the scientific community that HIV infection can lead to AIDS, World AIDS Day has become one of the most internationally recognized global health events in the calendar.^2,4  

Each year, a different theme for World AIDS Day is set. The slogan for World AIDS Day 2022 is ‘Equalize’: an effort to draw people to focus on and work to change the inequalities in society that slow or inhibit progress that effectively addresses the HIV/AIDS pandemic.⁴ 

Medical communications agencies can play a key role in addressing inequalities in this therapy area. Spearheading awareness campaigns, dispelling myths about disease transmission, encouraging people to get tested, and providing information about safe and effective antiretroviral drugs are examples of ways that medical communications agencies can support global public health approaches and arm people with knowledge that will reduce stigma and discrimination around infection and treatment. 

Over the last 30 years, great strides have been made to meet the needs of people living with HIV. The number of infected people with access to antiretroviral drugs increased from 7.8 million in 2010 to 28.7 million in 2021.⁵ Other encouraging trends include the reduction of annual incident HIV cases from 3.2 million in 1996 to 1.5 million in 2021, and  the 68% reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths over the last 17 years.⁵ 

Although the vast majority of adults who are aware of their HIV-positive status are able to access treatment, infants and children under the age of 15 have some of the lowest treatment rates.⁵ Infections in children can occur during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.⁶ The symptoms of HIV infection in infants may be generalized and non-specific, which can make it difficult to obtain a diagnosis in a timely manner, especially if the mother is unaware of her HIV status. Swelling of the abdomen and lymph nodes, diarrhea, pneumonia and poor weight gain are potential signs of HIV in infants, while children may experience recurrent sinus infections, hepatitis or nephropathy.⁷ Some of these symptoms can disappear after a short period of time, which may cause the infection to be mistaken for short-term illnesses like influenza, mononucleosis and strep throat.⁸  

Another population with lower-than-average treatment rates for HIV infection is males aged 15 and older.⁵ A report published in 2017 by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) found that men are less likely than women to get tested, initiate treatment, or adhere to antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection.^9,10 This can prevent men from achieving key treatment goals such as virologic suppression and immunological fortification. Men who have sex with men (MSM), male sex workers, and men who inject drugs have a consistently higher risk of contracting HIV. It is also these populations that can be deterred from getting tested because of societal stigma, harassment and discrimination.¹¹ Concerns about stigma, even in uninfected MSM, may be associated with poor mental health and prevent these individuals from accessing pre-exposure prophylaxis, also known as PrEP.¹² 

People who become incarcerated whilst being treated for HIV infection are another underserved patient population. Poor management of the infection can occur during admission to prison, transfer from one facility to another and following release.¹³ The estimated global prevalence of HIV in prisoners is 4.8%.¹⁴ Although prisoners are 7.2 times more likely to be infected with HIV than the general population, lack of regular testing in prisons can create the ideal conditions for the virus to spread undetected for a long period of time.¹³ 

Consensual or coerced unprotected sexual intercourse, unsafe piercing and tattooing practices, sharing of shaving razors, and improper sterilization of medical or dental instruments are all risk factors for HIV acquisition in prison settings.¹⁴  

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, including people with HIV and other conditions that compromise the immune system.^15–17 The psychological burden of social distancing and measures introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had the potential to inhibit access to care.¹⁷ Job loss, food insecurity and precarious living situations during the pandemic continue to exacerbate challenges facing marginalized people. Holistic, patient-centered care for people living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic has helped to improve adherence to antiretroviral drugs and foster an environment in which patients feel supported by healthcare professionals.¹⁸  

Strategies that can help to improve the detection, management or spread of HIV in vulnerable populations include promoting the use of condoms, harm reduction facilities for drug users, raising awareness of PrEP, and ensuring that patients have access to antiretroviral drugs and testing services to check for virologic suppression and immunologic biomarkers.¹³ These approaches are expected to increase the likelihood of achieving the UNAIDS goal of eradicating HIV as a global health threat by 2030.¹⁹ 

Of critical importance is the need to detect infections at the earliest opportunity, to ensure that a wide range of treatment options are available to the patient at the time of diagnosis.⁷ This is a vital part of reducing morbidity and mortality for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. 

References 

1. United Nations. World AIDS Day. Available from: https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-aids-day. Last accessed November 2022.
2. World Health Organization (WHO). World AIDS Day. Available from: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news-room/events/world-aids-day. Last accessed November 2022.
3. HIV.gov. The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic. Available from: https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/data-and-trends/global-statistics. Last accessed November 2022.
   Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
4. World AIDS Day. Available from: https://www.unaids.org/en/World_AIDS_Day. Last accessed November 2022.
5. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Global HIV & AIDS Factsheet. Available from: https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet. Last accessed November 2022.
6. National Institutes of Health (NIH). HIV and Specific Populations. Available from: https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-and-children-and-adolescents. Last accessed November 2022.
7. Stanford Medicine – Children’s Health. AIDS/HIV in Children. Available from: https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=aidshiv-in-children-90-P02509. Last accessed November 2022.
8. WebMD. Conditions That Look Like HIV but Are Not. Available from: https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/conditions-look-like-hiv. Last accessed November 2022.
9. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The Blind Spot. Available from: www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/blind_spot_en.pdf. Last accessed November 2022.
10. Koole O,  et al. Retention and risk factors for attrition among adults in antiretroviral treatment programmes in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Trop Med Int Heal. 2014;19(12):1397-1410.
11. Liu C,  et al. Anticipated HIV stigma among HIV negative men who have sex with men in China: a cross-sectional study. BMC Infect Dis. 2020;20(1):44.
12. Pico-Espinosa OJ, et al. PrEP-related stigma and PrEP use among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. AIDS Res Ther. 2022;19(1):49.
13. Be in the KNOW. HIV and prisoners. Available from:  https://www.beintheknow.org/understanding-hiv-epidemic/community/hiv-and-prisoners. Last accessed November 2022.
14. United Nations. Prisons and HIV. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/hiv-aids/new/prison_settings_HIV.html. Last accessed November 2022.
15. Mobula LM, et al. Protecting the vulnerable during COVID-19: Treating and preventing chronic disease disparities. Gates Open Res. 2020;4:125.
16. Li S, et al. A Mendelian randomization study of genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases and COVID-19. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):17703.
17. Waterfield KC, et al. Consequences of COVID-19 crisis for persons with HIV: the impact of social determinants of health. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):299.
18. Chinyandura C, et al. Supporting retention in HIV care through a holistic, patient-centred approach: a qualitative evaluation. BMC Psychol. 2022;10(1):17.
19. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Understanding fast-track: accelerating action to end the AIDS epidermic by 2030. Available from: www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/201506_JC2743_Understanding_FastTrack_en.pdf. Last accessed November 2022.