By Emily Cope-Smith, senior account manager at Hill+Knowlton Strategies
As I reflect on the last 12 months, it goes without saying that this has been an extraordinary time for healthcare communications. Topics that were once focused on niche audiences, such as research and development, are now attracting the interest of the masses. Healthcare has become everybody’s business. From communicating pandemics to rolling out breakthroughs – with health education in between – our vernacular is now full of all things virus and vaccine.
The common thread connecting the last 12 months goes further than just Covid-19. When we talk about the ‘new normal’, we’re actually talking about new behaviours.
Take telehealth for example. Mubadala Health’s Abu Dhabi Telemedicine Centre (ADTC) had reported a staggering 2000 per cent increase between March and July 2020, with similar trends being seen across the Gulf. Yet, telehealth is not a new phenomenon. In fact, an 1879 article in the Lancet referenced using the telephone to reduce unnecessary doctor visits and in the 1920s, the radio was regularly used to provide medical advice to clinics on ships. Now fast forward to 2021, and appointments by phone and video are suddenly surging. What this goes to show is that although the healthcare industry is evolving in the wake of the pandemic, the dramatic change isn’t only driven by the technology we’re using – it’s our behaviour that’s changed.
For us as communicators, it’s understanding that every healthcare challenge we’re seeing now centres around human behaviour – from encouraging people to attend important preventive health checks or encouraging people to get their vaccinations – the need to understand the person behind the mask has never been more important.
So, where does healthcare communication go from here?
At H+K, we use science and understanding by drawing on decades of research into human behaviour to understand what can help trigger behavioural change. If there’s one main reason why communication campaigns fail, it’s because they talk to how we think people should be rather than who they really are. By applying behavioural science to communications, our healthcare campaigns often see a 20-35 per cent increase in effectiveness.
The need for this human response is more important than ever. Here are five behavioural science insights that healthcare communicators can use as a starting point to drive meaningful action:
Never underestimate the power of testing
All drugs have an R+D phase and it’s only right that comms should too. All communications should be tested to find out what works well, and what can be improved for next time, in order to increase action and uptake. In our experience, spending a day or two testing the most effective words can lead to a significant return on investment savings, and most importantly in the context of healthcare, it can mean more lives saved too.
Repetition is key
In a world of information overload, particularly in the era of Covid-19’s ‘infodemic’, it’s hard to know what to take in – especially when it comes to healthcare comms. Using the analogy of computer processing power, scientists estimate that our unconscious brains are bombarded with 11 million bits of information per second, yet our conscious brains can only roughly process a tiny fraction of this (around 40 pieces of information). If you want your communications to have a lasting impact, never underestimate the power of repetition. As communicators, we often like to think of new and novel ways to say things but, more often than not, simplicity works best.
Reduce the hassle factor, aka ‘sludge’
It may sound obvious but, as humans, we like things to be quick and easy. Time is our most precious commodity. This is why if we want to increase uptake, we need to reduce the hassle factor and effort of taking up a service. We have a strong tendency to go with the default or pre-set option since it is easy to do so. The ‘opt-out’ method has worked brilliantly with many important causes, such as countries looking to increase the number of organ donors, with uptake rates of around 90 per cent (compared to 15 per cent in ‘opt-in’ countries).
We’re social animals
Never take for granted how heavily influenced we are by what others around us do. Take this statistic which on the surface seems extremely informative: ‘1 in 4 of women does not attend cervical screenings when invited.’ Instead re-frame this and tap into social norms: ‘3 in 4 of women do attend cervical screenings when invited’. This brings to the forefront how many people are attending their cervical screenings and makes the audience think that they should too.
Nobody’s perfect
As humans, we appreciate transparency and authenticity. Enter ‘the blemish effect’. We don’t want things to be too perfect or seem too good to be true. Otherwise, we start to question it. Small doses of mildly negative information – the “blemish” – can lead to highlighting the positive information and make it seem even more positive. Take a well-known cough medicine brand for example who have attributed much of their success to their key message: ‘it tastes awful, but it works’.
The next 12 months may be as uncertain as the last, but what we can be sure of is that through infusing the science of changing behaviour with the art of storytelling, we can re-write what it means to be healthcare communicators and help inspire real positive change.
