When we set out to create the A Life in a Day experience of a person living with obesity, we knew it had to be more than just an exercise in awareness. Obesity is a complex, chronic condition, one that carries an extensive list of health challenges alongside social, emotional, and psychological dimensions. Once we had developed the obesity experience, we invited participants from both pharma and those who helped create it to pilot it. Their response was overwhelmingly positive.
It was clear that the experience was achieving its aims, with the contributors repeatedly telling us they hoped healthcare professionals (HCPs) could also go through it. For us as a company, that has always been the ultimate goal: to improve the lives of patients by increasing empathy across the healthcare sector.
Putting the experience to the test with HCPs
We wanted to explore whether the obesity experience could be of genuine value to the wider HCP community. To do this, we reached out to one of the UK’s leading experts in the field, Dr Helen Parretti.
Dr Parretti is a GP and obesity researcher who has contributed to national guidance as a committee member for both the NICE Clinical Guidelines for Obesity Management and the NICE Quality Standards for Obesity. She also sits on the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society Council.
In short, she brings a wealth of expertise to the conversation.
When Dr Parretti took part in the experience, her reflections were powerful.
The next steps
We are hugely grateful to Dr Parretti for taking part and sharing her feedback. Her response affirmed what patients had been telling us all along: that this experience has real value for HCPs, helping them step into the shoes of patients in a way that textbooks and guidelines cannot.
The journey doesn’t stop here. Our next exciting step is to work with a group of trainee GPs, who will go through the obesity experience as part of their training in the coming months. We’re eager to evaluate the impact and see how it influences their approach to patient care.
But we also don’t want the exposure to end there. The more HCPs who have the opportunity to walk in a patient’s shoes through these experiences, the closer we get to influencing healthcare outcomes and encouraging a system grounded in empathy and understanding.
So, we’d love your help. If you know of ways to bring our experiences to more HCPs, whether in the UK or internationally, please get in touch. And if you work with a team who you think would benefit from the unique patient insights our obesity experience provides, we’d love to hear from you.
At its heart, A Life in a Day is about transforming perspectives. With the obesity experience, we hope to continue that mission – shining a light on the unique insights from patient’s lives to drive better outcomes for all within healthcare.
