Harnessing the power of health data through creativity

In a world where there is more health data available than ever before, healthcare professionals are now expected to be able to analyze and interpret increasingly complex clinical data, and communicate this to patients to make collaborative health decisions with them rather than for them.

One study suggests that only 36% of physicians indicated that they could communicate risk effectively in a numerical format. In another study, less than one-quarter of physicians supplied information that was both complete and transparent.

This disparity can negatively impact clinical decision making and health outcomes. Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide's collaboration with Central Saint Martins marks the first step in a journey towards redressing this. This first initiative invited students from the Graphic Communication Design Programme to explore how to make health data more accessible to health professionals and patients alike.

Over time, the aim is to invite the creative community to explore some of the big questions that have arisen as a result of this initial collaboration:

• Are we prepared to go beyond first impressions and enter into deeper relationships with statisticians, healthcare professionals, and patients?
  
• How can we work within existing conventions to maximize clarity, facilitate comprehension, and maintain authority and trust?
  
• Are we ready to explore the opportunities and obstacles of multiple and multifaceted communication channels?
  
• How might we use responsive and dynamic graphic communication solutions to personalize and humanize support and respect patients as individuals?

David Davenport-Firth, Executive Vice President, Health Behaviour Strategy & Intervention at Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, said: "Data has always been at the heart of evidence-based medicine, but we are entering a new and exciting era. More and more data is now available to health professionals, patients, and consumers, through self-monitoring technology and the emerging 'Internet of Things.' Such data is impotent unless it can be adequately comprehended and appropriately incorporated into decision making.

David Davenport-Firth, Executive Vice President, Health Behaviour Strategy & Intervention at Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, and Rebecca Wright, Programme Director, Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins.

"The challenge of the 21st century is therefore less about data capture: it is more about its effective communication. Within health, this is a deeply human undertaking. At Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, we strongly believe there's a need to apply creativity to the communication of health data with as much passion as is applied to other communications. Health data needs to be enticing, engaging, and most importantly, understandable. This is why we're so excited to have embarked upon a collaborative journey with world-leading Central Saint Martins: an experience that has already proven to be stimulating, inspiring, and rewarding."

Rebecca Wright, Programme Director, Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins, added: "In response to a demanding brief, our students have produced ideas and concepts that propose new ways to communicate complex health data in humane and user-centered ways. Their solutions range from the systems-orientated and easily implemented to inspiring visions for the future of healthcare communications. This collaboration has provided a unique opportunity to explore how graphic communication design can play a transformative role improving lives and to demonstrate the social value it can bring."

Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide and Central Saint Martins will be inviting people to join the debate on Twitter using #healthfuldata and mentioning @OgilvyHWUK and @CSM_news.