People Not Patients by H+K Strategies

For our 6th episode of H+K's Health+Wellness podcast, People Not Patients, we focus on our recent I Am Number 17 campaign, launched on behalf of Takeda UK, and what it's like to live with a rare disease. David and Rachel, two of the 17 changemakers involved in the I Am Number 17 campaign, join Jess Walsh and Jessi Langsen for a conversation on their experiences of living with a rare disease. Listen for:What it’s like to live with a rare disease, particularly thinking outside of the doctor’s office – how it impacts work, love and relationshipsBalancing becoming the de facto spokesperson for a person living with a rare diagnosis and the amount of vulnerability needed to talk about a deeply personal experienceHow to manage the isolation of living such a unique experience The climate around COVID-19 as a person living with a rare diseaseFor more information on the I am number 17 campaign, please visit www.Iamnumber17.org.uk

This special 5th episode of the H+K Health+Wellness podcast, People Not Patients, focuses on communications in the response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. David Bowen, H+K’s Global Head of Health and WPP Health Policy Lead, and London’s own lead behavioural scientist Dan Berry join Jess Walsh and Jessi Langsen for a conversation that we hope adds perspective and clarity to a loud, literally isolating time. Listen for:The role and core principles of communicating in a pandemicEffective behavioural messaging we can use to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus right now, tested by the H+K SMARTER teamNotes on the generational blame game playing out in mediaHow we respect vulnerable populations in communicating about COVID-19What this means for the conversation around vaccinesAdvice for re-thinking the words we use, including ‘social distancing’ and ‘social isolation’Today, we’re all navigating a completely new health climate and the ways in which we’re talking to each other are more critical than ever. If you are experiencing symptoms, we encourage you to follow the advice of your local health authority.On behalf of your hosts, we hope you continue to stay safe and take care of yourselves, your families, and your neighbours.

Lydia Slaby, author of H+K Health team favourite ‘Wait…It Gets Worse’, joins Jess and Jessi to talk about the importance of imperfect stories, steering away from words like 'battle' in the language of modern healthcare and why she doesn't define herself as a survivor in the years since being treated for non Hodgkins lymphoma. This episode is dedicated to the people who keep showing up when things go from bad to worse.

People Not Patients welcomes Ben Howlett, managing director of Public Policy Projects and former MP for Bath and Daisy Thomas, Director and Public Affairs lead for H+K Health in London, into the studio for an animated discussion on what the new government means for health in the UK. NHS funding, the role of digital transformation, and, of course, Brexit are all on the table.

Episode 2 is here and we're joined by Dan Berry, leader of our behavioural science team, H+K SMARTER. Together we unpick the challenge of health communications driving awareness but not action and how the right combination of science and creativity unlocks a new class of solutions. Also: why we love experimenting on our colleagues.

In episode 1, expect to hear more about H+K Health's mandate to treat anyone navigating health as a person first, a few good things we've seen recently and an excellent recommendation for cold robot hands.