PURPOSE: Much of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) involves generating a range of evidence to substantiate the burden of illness and the benefits of new treatments. Communications of that work, such as those presented at this conference, are largely scientific. However, HEOR evidence is increasingly communicated to diverse audiences, including clinicians, policy makers, and patients. This workshop will discuss the importance of effectively communicating technical information to a range of audiences and practical methods for doing so.

DESCRIPTION: Novel communication strategies are required to make key messages about HEOR evidence compelling to less technical audiences and inspire them to take action. This goal is different from that of scientific publications, which is to convey sufficient methodologic detail so the results can be replicated. For diverse audiences to value the information presented, the focus of the communication should be the interpretation and relevance of facts and figures rather than the facts and figures themselves. Additionally, the decreasing frequency of face-to-face interactions heightens the need for simple and interactive communications where the cognitive effort required to understand their key messages is relatively low. In this presentation, users will learn (1) evidence-based principles for the effective communication of technical information; (2) practical methods derived from design and user-experience expertise to make communications targeted and efficient; and (3) case studies and outcomes of real-world communication strategies employed by a pharmaceutical manufacturer. The audience will participate in live demonstrations of alternative communication strategies and how they differ in effectiveness. Participants will also be encouraged to discuss their own communication challenges and mitigation strategies.