Unveiling the insights: Key takeaways from Cheltenham Science Festival.

The GKA team have been out immersing in a full programme of great talks by a range of speakers on topics relevant to the healthcare sector. Zoe Smith, Head of Fieldwork and Philippa Carter, Project Manager share their highlights.?

The Long Covid Handbook?

Philippa Carter, Project Manager?

With the WHO declaring the end of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the effects of long Covid continue to have a significant impact on society, from the direct effects on peoples day-to-day lives through to the wider economic impact. Here are some of Philippa’s key takeaways…?

1. Long Covid has affected 3% of the working adult population and been the biggest contributor to the rise in unemployment in the last two years.?

2. Those most at risk of developing long Covid are females, people aged 30-50, asthmatics and people who have previously had a post-viral infection. Long Covid seems to most commonly affects those who have previously been fit, healthy and active, and can occur after any Covid infection, not just the first one.?

3. One of the challenges facing clinical trials for long Covid is that the symptoms and potential causes vary so widely, that there is never going to be a ‘one size fits all’ treatment.??

4. Research funding for long Covid is at an all time low. The presenters suggested that this was due to a high level of fatigue in the populations of hearing about Covid and further the risk of being called ‘fear mongers’, which would actually be the opposite of what the research would be trying to achieve.?

5. Research into long Covid also offers the opportunity to benefit the ME/CFS community. In a similar way these conditions have been hard to untangle, but long Covid is helping to give researchers a starting point, as well as make sense of previous research findings.?

If you would like to hear more insights from the Long Covid Handbook presentation please reach out to Philippa directly – [email protected].??

Gender Health Gap?

Zoe Smith, Head of Fieldwork??

In a world where gender equality remains a work-in-progress, the presenters shared their insights on how gender and race are still creating health disparities. Some key highlights included…?

1. Less than 2% of research funding is focused on reproductive health.?
2. Women’s health is still seen as a ‘lifestyle’ topic rather than ‘healthcare’.?
3. Research undertaken by the British Heart Foundation showed that over 8,000 deaths in women could have been prevented through equitable cardiac treatment. The full report Bias and Biology: The heart attack gender gap can be found here - bit.ly/3J6kF1R?
4. The presenters shared examples of how much longer it takes to diagnose high prevalence, female only conditions. Citing Endometriosis as an example, a condition as prevalent as diabetes and highly debilitating, it can take 8 years to be diagnosed and up to 12 years within the BAME population.?

If you would like to hear more insights from the Gender Health Gap presentation, please reach out to Zoe directly – [email protected].??

At GKA, CPD comes in many different forms allowing the team to immerse themselves in a range of new ideas and initiatives. If you would like to know more about GKA and how we can support your organisation then please get in touch via [email protected] or if you have an upcoming medical market research project, please share details with us via [email protected] or on our website at www.gilliankenny.com.?