07/11/2024

EMPATHY: A DAY WITH DIABETES

Empathy is a core principle in our day-to-day work at Personalive: putting oneself in the shoes of the intended recipient of the innovation, content, communication channels, and services, is central to our Dynamic Personas®approach.

In recent years, while studying the usability of blood glucose monitoring devices, we’ve often asked ourselves:

• “What does a person with diabetes feel?”
• “How does someone with diabetes navigate daily environments like home, work, mobility, and social interactions?”
• “How does a person with diabetes experience blood glucose monitoring? What practical and emotional challenges do they perceive?”

This year, however, we want to take it a step further, shifting the paradigm. Together with Diabete Italia, we have created Empathy: A Day with Diabetes. This initiative, supported by a non-conditional grant from Roche, serves as both an awareness campaign and an inclusive, participatory movement.

While one cannot fully understand a condition without experiencing it firsthand, the Empathy project aims to give healthy individuals a glimpse into one aspect that people with diabetes face daily: blood glucose monitoring.

Throughout November 2024, we begin to explore the work context with four participating companies, Finiper, Morato Group, Carl Zeiss Vision Italia, and the City of Mesagne, in addition to sponsor Roche.

Employees and collaborators will participate in webinars and interactive meetings to learn about diabetes in all its facets, engaging in discussions about how companies, through an inclusive lens, can improve work life for employees. The initiative aligns with two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): social inclusion and the benefits derived from responsible corporate policies. Specifically, it will focus on Goal 3: "Good Health and Well-Being", to promote employee well-being through mental health initiatives, access to medical care, and fitness programs and on Goal 10: "Reduce Inequalities", to encourage corporate policies that reduce internal and external inequalities, fostering the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in the workforce.

Moreover, the project aims to raise public awareness, promote the integration of people with diabetes into every aspect of life, and encourage operators and institutions to respond to not only access and care needs but also broader requirements for overall well-being.

All employees will also be invited to participate in a research project about perceptions of diabetes and lifestyle. They may even volunteer for a day of empathy, where they’ll monitor their blood glucose using finger pricks, test strips, and a glucometer. Participants will complete a survey to assess the experience and are encouraged to share their insights on social media in a direct and empathetic manner.

The data and insights collected will serve as valuable contributions for public-facing publications.

The goals of the project are many, but at its core is the aim to identify the practical and emotional needs, challenges, and discomforts that individuals with diabetes experience daily.

On a broader level, the project seeks to:

• Gather structured evidence documenting the needs and challenges faced by people with diabetes.
• Facilitate the integration of individuals with this condition in all areas of life (work, school, sports, etc.).
• Inform the public and patients about the project and its findings to provide useful information for prevention and/or early recognition of the condition.
• Raise awareness among people and institutions about the needs of those with diabetes, addressing not only access and care requirements but also wider needs.

The campaign is supported by a multichannel communication plan focused on the project’s website, Diabete Italia's social media profiles (Instagram and Facebook), Personalive’s LinkedIn profile, coverage in major health and business outlets, a banner campaign on Fanpage.it and LED and video wall displays at Verovolley’s men’s and women’s home volleyball games throughout November. This sports-oriented outreach serves as an initial step toward a broader sports engagement strategy starting in 2025.

Ultimately, Empathy: A Day with Diabetes is an ambitious project that aims to help people better understand those around them, recognize potential symptoms and risk factors of the disease, and promote both prevention and early identification of diabetes where possible.