Breaking the Code

As people become more conscious and more knowledgeable about their health, it's on brands and health institutions to become more intimately aware of their consumer's (or patient's) health needs and goals. Someone who "does their own research" isn't operating in a silo - they still rely on the opinions of others, friends, influencers, health professionals and brands, to validate their decisions. In this episode, we are joined by Dan Weaden, CEO of Havas Consumer Health, to talk about the wide array of influences to a consumer's decision making journey. Understanding this journey starts with an acknowledgement of the changing landscape of how consumers interact with health brands, their priorities, the best channels to reach them, and their desire to interact authentically. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

In honor of Parkinson's awareness month, we're joined by Howard Lenn, EVP, Executive Creative Director at Havas Health Plus, to discuss his team's approach to the work on the "The Kama Sutra of Parkinson's", ParkinSex. Couples that include someone with Parkinson's are more likely to separate than couples that don't. Howard talks about the massive strain Parkinson's puts on intimacy, prior to any touching, where one is feeling performance-related shame and/or struggling to communicate wants and needs. The love is there, and ParkinSex puts the focus on practicing intimacy. ParkinSex is not only great award-winning work, but it puts into practice a lot of the themes that have been previously discussed on this podcast, conducting primary research, co-creating with communities, the shame-stigma-taboo trichotomy, and implementing inclusive design. It is one of the finalists in the Webby Awards People's Voice Award for Health, Wellness & Pharmaceutical Advertising place your vote for ParkinSex here: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/advertising-media-pr/branded-content/health-wellness-pharmaceutical Read the case study here: https://parkinsexcasestudy.com/ If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Something that has fascinated us recently is the role culture plays in the emotional aspects of storytelling. The emotional response, its justification and the words used to describe it all are heavily influenced by an individual's identity and how they've learned to express themselves. In this episode, we discuss some of the culture differences when it comes to talking about pain and the importance of being a good listener. In our roles, we are listeners that support other listeners, whether its an HCP hearing their patients needs or members of a disease community propping each other up. Listening to someone's pain, however they express it, is how we learn and design successful outcomes for them.. Like you'll hear us say many times in the episode, pain is a broad topic with many interesting facets to discuss and discover - and we intend to do more episodes on other aspects of pain in the future. While listening, if you hear something interesting that you would like to hear more about, feel free to reach out to Brad, Sonika and Gabriel using the email below. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Too often in our industry, when we say "healthcare professional" what we really mean is ONE healthcare profession, the prescribing Medical Doctor. However, nursing is and always has been a part of the healthcare professional team, and today more than ever the roles nurses play in providing care are exactly those we cannot do without. Nursing is impossible to do remotely; they are the hands-on heartbeat of any hospital, clinic, or practice. It is important that we recognize them as a unique profession, with their own preferences, culture and role within healthcare. Nurses are not "lesser doctors", and our efforts should reflect their practices, culture, history, and roles in medicine. Like everyone else, nurses benefit from our work most when we design for them specifically, and what helps nurses helps patients, doctors, and everyone else in the healthcare environment. In this special episode celebrating Women's History Month, we are joined by Lisa Chobanian, RN, MS, and also Associate Managing Director of Unification Services at H4B Chelsea, to break down the important distinctions within the culture of nurses and how we can reach them, specifically, as we communicate to HCPs at large. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Recently, a number of prestigious U.S. universities have talked about reinstating The Scholastic Aptitude Test, more infamously known as The SAT, for applicants to their undergraduate programs. The SAT was once mandatory for college applications, but has become optional and then not used at all in progressive stages over the past two decades. However, debate rages as to whether schools' test optional policies have hurt students (low-income students in particular) who have not been submitting their scores. The president of Dartmouth justified the institutions reinstatement of the exam by claiming that SAT scores, sometimes below average ones, help identify students who "excel in their environment". In this episode, we look at the SATs as a case study in the challenges of creating an equitable system. The SAT is a part of a flawed U.S. education system in need of a standardized approach to evaluate and effectively put students in a position to succeed, academically. Score distributions reveal less about the months of prep leading up to the test as they do about the years of general educational neglect before hand - the cracks are foundational. While it is an undeniable opportunity for underserved students to become undeniable applicants, it's a poor reflection of character, work ethic, and ability to endure in adverse circumstances. So what should we do with the SAT? If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Do you know anyone who just watches the Superbowl for the love of the game anymore? As TV viewers decline across the board, the Big Game on the second Sunday of February remains a must watch event in sports, entertainment, and advertising, hooking the attention from everyone from die-hard sports fans to Swifties. In this special episode, the full team, Brad, Sonika, and Gabriel play 'Monday Morning Quarterback' and take a social scientist's lens to some notable ads from the night (Pfizer's 'Here's to Science', Dove's 'It's a hard knock life', Google Pixel's 'Javier in Frame'). We also discuss what makes Superbowl ads so distinct from their much less desirable counterparts - everything from the strategy behind them to the viewers who are watching. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

A rare disease diagnosis is the beginning of a journey of unknowns. From an HCPs ability to treat, to a caregivers' emotional burden, to a patient's sense of identity, there are a variety of factors that remain uncertain or unclear which makeup the unique challenge of having a rare disease. Despite the challenge, people living with rare disease persevere and form communities - real communities - they share advice and relatable experiences while staying emotionally invested in each other's success. They've laid the groundwork. Advancements in the treatment of rare disease are both transformative today and tomorrow. Now, we must figure out how we fit in to creating that success. Join us for this special edition as we begin preparing for Rare Disease Day (February 29) with Afshan Rizvi Hussain, Havas' own Global Rare Disease Lead. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

With January being Cervical Health Awareness month, we felt that this was a great time to breakdown the discussion around Gardasil, an HPV vaccine that can play a major role in curbing the incidence rates of cervical and a variety of other cancers. With that fact alone, Gardasil seems like a no-brainer, but as we explained in a previous episode, it's our irrational behaviors that make us human. Gardasil hasn't caught on as well as initially expected. Since it works best in those who haven't had sex yet, it has raised a highly-contested behavior science conundrum for parents that has deterred use of the vaccine: does vaccinating a preteen for a sexually transmitted infection implicitly give them permission to start having sex? If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Doctors are in distress, and pandemic is not the only cause. For decades, the role of the healer has been evolving (or devolving, depending on whom you ask), both in our imaginations and in the literal conditions of labor for doctors. For the first episode of the new year, Sonika and I sit down with Vernon Bainton MD, Chief Medical Officer of Havas Lynx in the UK and a keen observer of all things medical, to discuss the Healing the Healers initiative and the evolution of doctoring in today's fast-paced, tech driven medical practice. Healing the Healers is a campaign developed by Havas Lynx powered by their proprietary Point.1 data. This unique dataset and ongoing analysis highlighted the staggering deterioration in healthcare professional wellbeing internationally and as a result the critical need for more effective and empathetic ways to communicate with HCPs. Head over to the Havas Lynx website to read more: https://havaslynx.com/thought-leadership/healing-the-healers/ If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Use this link to view the video form of this episode: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/havashealthandyou_onehavas-meaningfuldifference-breakingthecode-activity-7140365496129875968-ZpsM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Have you ever thought about how we describe young people as "finding their way" and older people as "stuck in their ways"? Gen Z, currently a cohort entering young adulthood, is commonly referred as being the most progressive generation, but so were Millennials and Gen X when they were young adults. Conversations and findings about generations are often conflated with truths about life stages and aging. The idea that millennials are begrudgingly warming up to minivans is evidence of aging, not something unique to their generation--we all change when we form families and have a desire for more space. Gen X feeling that they're an ignored cohort in shadow of Baby Boomers, however, is unique and truly "generational" - a lifelong feeling that is tied to their life experiences in a way that other cohorts won't feel. This very special episode is a celebration of 1 year of Breaking the Code. The full team, Brad, Sonika and Gabriel sit down in front of the camera to take the BS out of over-generalized discussions about generational cohorts and coming of age. Thank you so much for listening to Breaking the Code in 2023! The feedback and discussion that comes from the episodes is a big part of why this is one of our favorite projects. We're breaking for the holidays and will be back with a new episode early in the new year. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

There isn't an official list of everything that's considered taboo, but somehow we all have an instinctual sense of words and topics that are off limits. We even try not to invoke the word of some taboos, like death, so we say things like "passing away", "biting the dust", "pushing up daisies", and more). However, healthcare environments are one of the few places where taboos are openly discussed, so it's crucial that we know the best way to navigate those situations. In this episode we break down taboos, both cultural and universal. We broach a variety of taboos throughout, from mental health to the 3Ps, all so that we can derive solutions that aim to alleviate the shame that can come from having these uncomfortable conversations. These conversations are exceptionally critical to have in the health space, since the stigma and shame that result from overcoming taboos can serve as a life-threatening barrier between people and the help they need. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Hair is defined as the "threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans and other mammals", but that does not begin to describe the social significance of your hair. Color, cut, and style are all part of a shared but often tacit set of rules and expectations, and the social evaluation of your hair (or your children's hair) is perceived as speaking volumes about your beliefs and place in a given culture or community. You can't avoid it: how you wear your hair says something about you, and losing your hair to a disease like alopecia robs you of that ability to "speak through your hair". In this episode we discuss key findings from a semiotic study of hair, the kind of analysis we do on a regular basis to study the visual signs in a given therapeutic or social sphere. e love doing these analyses because they uncover human truths in aspects of life that hide in plain sight, right before our eyes - or for this episode - right on top of our heads. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

"Task overload", or the related concepts of "information overload" and "task saturation", is a term developed to describe what happens when there is simply too much for our brains to do--a common occurrence in airline emergencies, spacecraft emergencies, and, unfortunately, everyday work loads in our modern medical systems. The consequences of task saturation are well understood, lead to very poor decision making and leave very little room for interpersonal engagement, as the overwhelmed brain looks inwards for answers and shuts out further external engagement. This leads, inevitably, to plane crashes, space disasters, and, sadly, disconnected healthcare. Join us for this special edition as we discuss task saturation in healthcare with Havas' own Elisabetta Grioni, Chief Medical and Strategy Officer of Havas Life Milan, the impact of task saturation on the mental health of providers, and the impact of task overload on women in particular. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Wanting "more" of anything we like seems to be a default human setting, even to the point of problematic excess. A packed closet means we have clothes to wear, an overstuffed fridge means we can eat, and a full wallet means we can buy even more of whatever we please. When Mae West famously said "too much of a good thing is wonderful", she probably wasn't thinking of a world awash in plastic garbage and a juvenile diabetes crisis that has sharps containers in middle schools throughout the US. This default heuristic that "more is better" has a counterpoint in "less is more", which is both paradoxical and a rallying cry for those who believe in "moderate consumption" throughout history (Lisa Kondo is not the originator of the minimalist aesthetic). Listen as we discuss both phrases and provide instances where more is more but where less is also more. The key is in the value framing of what's being offered and in making sure we are communicating what we gain--even with "less", the reward is "more". If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Death is an inevitable part of the human experience--OUR experience. But speaking about death, specifically how we want to spend our last months and days on earth when illness makes the end both visible and inevitable, is challenging. We find ourselves struggling to overcome taboos and other cultural and personal barriers to communication, and that leads, many think, to a large number of "bad" ICU deaths. Listen as we discuss the thoughts and conversations that do (and don't) occur when a someone is near death. You'll hear the thinking behind doctors resistance to telling patients that they're going to die and learn why we, as communication experts, should understand the varying priorities of someone at the end of their life If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

When designing interventions to improve the doctor-patient visit, we often forget that, in some sense, all doctor-patient conversations are cross-cultural. Doctors literally embody the clinic itself, as both its representatives and agents, whereas the patients simply represent themselves and their needs. When designing communication strategies for these interactions, we need to consider a patient's life experiences, culture, and health literacy, which includes things like expectations for how a "good doctor" will act and what their role is supposed to be. Power differentials are inherent in the engagement, and we need to account for this, as well--not every patient is comfortable "challenging" doctors or other institutional figures in the course of a medical interview, and if our interventions require that, they will fail for those patients. Patients that defer to a doctor's expertise need to be accounted for as much as patients that are looking for open dialogue about their treatment. In this episode, Brad recalls 3 anecdotes from doctor-patient interactions that he has previously observed. Each doctor is distinct but beloved by their patients, and each story reveals another layer into how we, as communication experts, should approach thinking about these interactions. Brad and Sonika dive into each of these stories and uncover insights related to regional cultures, power dynamics, and an inclusive method for doctors to meet any patient where they are. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Trust in relationships, business, personal or otherwise, is built in large part on perceptions of honesty, which we gauge based on the perceived intent of the person in that relationship. It's more difficult for some to be seen as honest because of their perception as liars, someone who makes untrue claims, or worse, a palterer, someone who uses the truth dishonestly. Listen as Brad and Sonika discuss "paltering", a relatively uncommon term to describe a form of misleading behavior where one hides the truth by telling part, but not all, of the truth, with the intent of hiding the larger truth. Paltering is a rare word but a very common practice, one we as marketers engage in daily, and while lying-while-not-exactly-lying can feel more honest, to the receiver, it is as bad for building trust as outright lying, if not worse. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

Including your audience into the development process, with intentionality, is key in designing effective initiatives, campaigns, and products that do justice for them. Bringing the right people to the table is only the start - the hard part is incorporating their truths into an end result that properly represents them. The term inclusive design is becoming more popular, which is great, but it's essential, to groups that have been excluded for so long, that you're doing it right. Please enjoy this special 40 minute episode as we speak with Allison Ceraso (HH+) and Andre Gray (Annex88) on the nuances of inclusive design, where it stands today and how to move it forward. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

A doctor's dismissal of symptoms can be devastating for a patient. We know it's a problem, but what do we call it? There's a variety issues that's could be at the root of this dismissal. The answer may be Medical gaslighting - or it may not. Listen as we discuss the rapidly increasing prevalence of the term "Medical gaslighting", and how use of the term, due to its connotation, inadvertently accuses doctors of having malicious intent to mislead patients. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast

We've all been in situations where our actions don't perfectly align with who we purport to be - to ourselves or others. These inconsistencies are much easier to spot in other people, like a nurse who treats with one philosophy and teaches at-home treatment with another or a patient in pain who doesn't fill the prescription given to them for that pain. Listen as we discuss cognitive dissonance, values in conflict and, ultimately, why our incoherent behavior means we are complicated, not crazy. If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi, email us at medicalanthropology@havas.com Check out Breaking the Code on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-the-code-havas-health-and-you-podcast