Use of an Educational Exhibit to simultaneously disseminate community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)-related information and conduct market research among healthcare conference attendees

Objective: To demonstrate the effectiveness of using Educational Exhibits (EE) to simultaneously deliver community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)-related information to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and determine audiences’ perception of therapeutic challenges surrounding CAP. Challenge/Problem: Conferences provide a unique opportunity to communicate with many stakeholders in a short period of time, including educating the marketplace before launching a new drug. Pharmaceutical companies are challenged with effectively and efficiently engaging with HCPs. Solution: EEs are interactive exhibit booths that guide conference attendees through an 8-minute audio and visual presentation describing an unmet clinical need. CAPrelated EEs were commissioned by a sponsoring pharmaceutical company across eight conferences to share key communication points and understand HCPs’ perceptions of CAP. This included interactions with a range of HCP audiences, comprising family practitioners, nurse practitioners, allergists, managed care and health-systems pharmacists, and osteopathic physicians. Prior to viewing the exhibit, attendees completed a survey describing their demographics and perceived challenges in diagnosing and treating CAP. Outcome: Across eight conferences, 2003 individuals (8% of attendees) completed an EE, of which 1082 individuals opted-in to receive additional information about pneumonia. Survey data successfully captured visitor preferences, including professional conferences as the primary source of CAP-related information for > 51% of EE visitors. 45.9% of visitors were further found to perceive increasing antibiotic resistance as the greatest challenge to managing CAP, while 28.8% described themselves as currently unaware of resistance rates in their practice’s community. Benefits: EEs are unique communication modalities that can disseminate disease-state information and provide primary market research for industry, including identifying unmet needs in the community. Visitor metrics can also be leveraged by medical affairs professionals to inform their communication strategy for a product