This work is relevant for Direct because it was created to be 100% direct in its nature. Our Awareness Aid Kits were designed to be sent to key female influencers and HCP's across the Gulf region. Designed to look like normal First Aid Kits, they also held life-saving contents; information about the lack of awareness surrounding the unknown signs of female heart attacks. The recipients could activate real stories from women who have suffered misdiagnosis through an in-built audio device which was activated by placing a stethoscope on it - thus getting our message directly to this important audience.

The content for this campaign was created within internal and external medical, legal, and regulatory (MLR) guidelines. Official MLR approvals were passed through Veeva Vault platform, in addition to local health authority approvals by the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA). The EDA regulations dictate specific requirements for content developed for HCPs and consumers. The MissDiagnosed campaign took into consideration the comprehensive regulations from all necessary stakeholders for accurate and timely approvals of the materials.

This campaign was especially important for the region, as from our research we know that since the 1990s there’s not been enough news to raise awareness of the misdiagnosis of women’s heart attacks here. We also had to overcome other hurdles as it can be difficult to get approvals from health authorities in certain countries in the MENA region prior to launching consumer awareness campaigns. Strict guidelines are in place to ensure communications do not instil fear or lean on negative connotations of a disease. So we carefully tailored our campaign not to overstep the mark but still give it enough power to change behaviour, raise awareness and shift the medical gender data bias.

Approvals from health authorities like the Ministry of Health in certain countries in the MENA region are to be sought prior to launching consumer awareness campaigns. Guidelines are in place to ensure communications do not instill fear or lean on a negative connotation of a disease while educating the public.

We targeted a range of HCP's and cardiologists in the region. It was relevant to target them as we needed to show them the extent of the issue and how they can help by raising more awareness about the mass misdiagnosis of women's heart attacks.

Situation - Cardiovascular diseases are the cause for 1 in every 3 deaths in women globally. This is largely due to decades of medical bias where women had been excluded from clinical trials. This has left a twenty year medical gender data gap that is putting millions of women’s lives at risk, because women experience heart attacks much differently to men.

Brief - To get to the heart of the matter and raise awareness of the severity of this problem in an impactful and innovative way.

Objectives - To expose and help close the medical gender data gap by spreading mass awareness of the issue and the lesser known signs of women's heart attacks. Then additionally to encourage women in the region to share their data for clinical trials that will help in cardiovascular research and save their futures.

Gender inequality has created a worrying lack of awareness about women’s cardiovascular health in the Gulf region - so we sent one Arabic woman, AKA 'Mis[s]diagnosed' to help prove this issue. We got her to meet pharmacists, home call-out nurses, medical professionals, doctors, ER emergency professionals and cardiovascular specialists, across the Gulf region, exhibiting the lesser know signs of women's heart attacks. Worryingly 83% failed to spot the signs. Once we had proved the lack of awareness was rife, we delivered a life saving jolt to medical professionals across the region. We packaged Mis[s]diagnosed’s research inside specially designed medical Awareness Aid Kits. These kits were sent to key Arabic women of influence, doctors, cardiologists and health care professionals throughout the region who then spread the Mis[s]diagnosed story to millions more and call for more women to sign up for clinical trials.

Target Audience: Arab women, cardiovascular professionals and HCP's in the Gulf region.

Approach:

Phase 1- Via an online poll we asked 4000 Arabic women if they knew the signs of a woman's heart attack – 97.4% didn't.

Phase 2-We sent one woman under-cover to meet medical professionals across the region; exhibiting the lesser known signs of female heart attacks - 83% missed her signs.

Phase 3-We packaged this data and her story inside specially designed 'Awareness Aid kits' to expose this worrying statistics.

Phase 4-Sent the kits to Arabic women of influence, and 100’s of HCP's across the region urging them to share the signs.

Phase 5-Fully integrated awareness campaign through influencers, shared our message to #KnowTheSigns, in addition to social media placements, on-ground HCP events & seminars at teaching hospitals.

Phase 6-Working with 100’s of companies to encourage women to give us the data to protect their futures.

We sent one Arab woman aka 'Mis[s]diagnosed' under-cover to medical professionals across the region; exhibiting the lesser known signs of women's heart attacks, documenting her journey of misdiagnosis using hidden audio and pinhole cameras. We packaged this story inside specially designed 'Awareness Aid Kits'. And sent these kits to 37 Arab women of influence, 100’s of doctors, cardiologists and HCP’s across the region. Once unboxed, they could listen to Mi[s]diagnosed tell her story and learn about the lesser known signs of women's heart attacks.

They were then encouraged to share her story and spread mass awareness of the lesser known signs to further expose and help close the medical gender data gap. The campaign aired on 29 Sept (World Heart Day) through influencers sharing our message, social media placements, on-ground HCP events & seminars at teaching hospitals. The campaign ran until Jan 16th in Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi, Lebanon, Bahrain.

Campaigned for free:

3 Teaching hospitals

12 International Heart Foundations/charities

37 Women of influence

100’s of doctors, medical professionals & cardiologists

Campaign reach:

28.7 million now #KnowTheSigns

Campaign impact:

28 million more women are now aware of the early warning signs in the region.

+24% Increase in social engagement for Organon

+17% more women - Showed interest in clinical trails (during the month of the campaign)

1 woman’s life saved - Millions more to go #KnowTheSigns

Campaign cost:

$60,000 dollars

To further combat the gender data gap and address the misrepresentation of women in clinical trials, Mis[s]diagnosed's story is helping Pharma and healthcare companies diversify their clinical trials and ensure more inclusive treatment innovations via via IPG Health's 'Trial for the #ClinicalEquality Initiative'.