Editor's note: The content in this article was submitted by Katie White as part of her team's Gold Quill award submission, highlighting the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine’s efforts in addressing the health impacts of climate change. IABC staff has adapted this work for publication.
One of the top medical schools in the world, the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine (UBC), is a leader in the science and practice of medicine. Together with academic and health partners, UBC delivers innovative education and training to more than 4,500 students — the next generation of doctors, scientists, and health professionals.
UBC conducts research across a wide range of disciplines, revolutionizing the prevention and treatment of disease and creating pathways to better health for communities at home and abroad. To this end, UBC is uncovering the complex and evolving health impacts of climate change. We are translating this knowledge into treatments and strategies that will save lives, increase resiliency, and safeguard the equality of healthcare for all.
A Looming Threat in Need of Urgency
According to Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, climate change is “the largest looming threat to the health of our communities and our planet.” Indeed, the need to future-proof the health of Canadians with better prevention tools, patient treatments, and lower-carbon healthcare systems has never been more urgent. With ongoing support from governments and through new collaborations with health and research partners, UBC will be able to accelerate its already transformational work in this field.
Pathways, the Faculty magazine, is a vital tool in this campaign, with a readership focused on government officials, especially decision-makers and staff in Canda’s federal and provincial governments. Other audiences include health and research partners, UBC leadership, media, and the public. Through feature stories, expert Q&As, and interactive multimedia explainers, Pathways helps these audiences appreciate the impact of our work — and inspires them to imagine how, together, we can protect the health of people in Canada and around the world as our climate changes.
In 2022, Health Canada identified climate change as a top health priority, with respiratory health, Indigenous peoples’ health, and healthcare system adaptation and resilience being areas of particular focus. Through Pathways, we communicate the Faculty’s innovative work, positioning UBC as a leader among universities in Canada and globally in the field of climate change health research and education.
There’s an urgent need for — and strong interest in — more research and education on climate change and health. Pathways helps solidify our leadership position and spark new ideas, collaboration and support.
Using Design to Showcase a Message
Every edition of Pathways brings together patient stories and expert perspectives on an important contemporary health challenge in a vibrant, easy-to-read editorial package.
For our climate change edition, we wanted the stories and design to convey a sense of optimism. While climate change presents a major threat to our health, we’re creating transformational change through our work, which we can accelerate with support from our target audiences.
View the full issue online.
For example, as you open the print edition, you’ll notice a stripe of color running along the edge of the odd-numbered pages. It’s dark blue on the first few pages and becomes lighter as you continue. Each shade corresponds to a different section of the magazine devoted to a different aspect of climate change and health, and the shades progress from dark to light, symbolizing the progress we’re making.
We also riff on the idea that through many small actions together we create change. The stories show how UBC scientists are collectively making a difference, but we also wanted to convey this idea through design. To accomplish this, we chose contrasting styles of photos — intimate portraits of everyday life and a bird’s eye views of rugged British Columbia landscapes. The juxtaposition of the images emphasizes the interdependence between human and planetary health.
A Path to Success
Through research and education, UBC set out to uncover the complex and evolving impacts of climate change on health, with Pathways being just one avenue to accomplish this. Our objectives for the publication specifically were threefold.
- To demonstrate UBC’s leadership and excellence in climate change health research and education.
- To demonstrate the current and potential impact/return on investment from UBC’s work in this field.
- To raise awareness, generate discussion, spark new collaborations, and ultimately grow UBC’s reputation to attract new funding and support from our key audiences.
Production was phased over two periods: January through May for the online edition, and August through Oct for the print edition. Promotion included two waves as well: June through August and October through December. The launch event took place as part of the second wave in November. By separating production and promotion of the web and print editions, we maximized available staff resources, ensuring quality and efficiency, while also extending the magazine’s reach among audiences.
The team included an editor-in-chief to manage writing, editing, and design, two writers, and a social media digital marketing specialist. We worked with external designers to execute our vision. We also hired a UBC photographer to shoot bespoke portraits and campus images; freelancers were hired to capture video. The launch event included help from an external event planner.
Exceeding Objectives
In June, we launched the online edition with paid and organic social media, targeting key audiences, and a media relations campaign aimed at thought-leader media. Journalists, academics, and decision-makers engaged with our campaign, generating 45,000 pageviews, 630,000 social impressions (16,000 engagements), and 65 media mentions. This included stories in national and international outlets such as the Globe and Mail, Scientific American, and International Business Times. Pathways stories occupied the top spot on UBC's homepage for five weeks straight, resulting in 1.5 million total impressions, and were syndicated across UBC media.
View a sample of UBC’s digital work online.
In October, we launched the print edition with mailouts to 750 key influencers in government, health and academia, and a second social media wave. Promotion culminated in an invitation-only event in November with experts from UBC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which drew 200 people from research, healthcare, and government.
In a testimonial about the publication, Dr. Jennifer Grady, deputy director of surveillance, data, and epidemiology at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, offered these thoughts: “Climate change is one of the most disruptive threats the global health community has ever faced — but there is reason for hope. Pathways shows how, through the innovation and collaboration of scientists at UBC and beyond, we can help to secure a healthy and resilient future for people around the world.”