University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine
Print and Digital Publishing: Single or Special Issue
Silver
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a leader in the science and practice of medicine in Canada and globally, ranking in the top 25 in health and life sciences in the most recent QS World University Rankings. Pathways, the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s digital and print magazine takes readers to the frontiers of contemporary medicine and explores the how, the why and the what-next of the research and innovation happening at UBC and beyond. Every edition is thematic, devoted to an emerging issue or trend in medicine and health.
The most recent edition of Pathways explores the impact of climate change on health and health-care systems. We ask the question: How can we future-proof health in a changing climate? And we explore possible answers through stories on urban greenspace and childhood brain development; drone-based health supply delivery in extreme weather-affected areas; ways of coping with climate change anxiety; and much more.
Pathways helps our key audiences — health and research partners, UBC leadership, media and the public — to appreciate the impact of UBC’s important 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.
What was the most impactful part of your entry?
The climate change issue of Pathways generated strong engagement from journalists, academics and government, health partners, and the public. During the launch period, the magazine generated 65 media mentions (including three top-tier stories) in national and international outlets such as the Globe and Mail, Scientific American, New York Times, and International Business Times. The website received 44K pageviews, 816K social impressions (32K engagements). Pathways stories occupied top spot on the UBC homepage (UBC.ca) for five straight weeks (1.5 million total impressions) and was syndicated across UBC media. Promotion culminated in an invitation-only event featuring experts from UBC and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The event drew a full house of 200 people from research, health care and government.
What challenge did you overcome?
Medicine is changing. It is becoming more collaborative, more complex — faster — than ever before. You see the breakthroughs in the news every day: novel gene therapies, AI-assisted neuroimaging, lipid nanoparticle vaccine technologies, and so on. In Canada, much of this innovative work happens at research universities like the University of British Columbia (UBC). The science is dazzling, but it’s also often difficult to grasp, whether you’re a general interest reader or someone who works in healthcare.
We faced two challenges with this issue. The first was explaining the science behind climate change and health — and the breakthrough UBC research in this field — in an engaging and accessible way. We accomplished this by bringing together patient stories and expert perspectives from a wide range of disciplines to offer our audiences a consistently insightful and holistic view of that issue in a visually arresting, easy-to-read editorial package.
The second challenge was striking the right balance between optimism and realism. While climate change presents a major threat to our health, the UBC Faculty of Medicine and its partners are creating change through their work. The design of the magazine reflects this balance: As you open the print edition, for example, you’ll notice a stripe of colour running along the edge of the odd-numbered pages. It’s dark blue on the first few pages, lighter as you progress—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 impact we’re making.
We also chose contrasting styles of photos—intimate portraits of everyday life and a bird’s eye views of rugged B.C. landscapes. The juxtaposition of the images emphasizes the interdependence between human and planetary health, and a healthy optimism for the future.
Contact:
Katie White
communications.med@ubc.ca