Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The free event allows participants to learn about Eastern medicine. Seminars about Eastern medicine receive a lot of attention, as there are fewer of these opportunities than for Western medicine. In this event, we included activation that can be experienced by the five senses to communicate the concept of integrative medicine proposed by Nihon Pharmaceutical University. To express integrative medicine as the combining of Eastern medicine into Western medicine, we used the familiar Western food of pizza as the base and added to it the Eastern medicine diagnostic method of the four examinations and foods to create herbal-medicinal pizzas.

Background

In June 2018, the WHO revised the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) for the first time in approximately 30 years, and for the first time added diagnostic patterns of Eastern medicine. Nihon Pharmaceutical University is the only university in Japan where students can major in Eastern medicine. As a result of worldwide attention focused on Eastern medicine, Nihon Pharmaceutical University has increased professional development offerings for people engaged in realizing integrative medicine, which integrates Eastern medicine into modern healthcare, which is built around Western medicine.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Nihon Pharmaceutical University seeks to integrate Eastern and Western medicine, and has increased its professional development for integrative medicine as Eastern medicine receives increased attention worldwide. The concept for this is “Pharmonic,” a word created from pharmaceutics and harmonic, having the meaning of new wave motion. Seminars for healthcare professionals designed to realize integrative medicine are based on the Pharmonic concept and include classwork and activation that allows participants to experience integrative medicine with the five senses. Using the familiar Western dish of pizza as the base, the Eastern medicine diagnostic method of the four examinations and foods are added to it to create herbal-medicinal pizzas for healthcare professionals that are selected from more than 1,300 types available to match individuals’ physical constitution and condition. Participants learn about the importance of integrating Western and Eastern medicine, and about the expanded possibilities that doing so creates.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Among healthcare professionals, pharmacists, who handle both Western and Eastern medicine, were the main target the program was promoted to and not doctors, who are separated into Western and Eastern schools of medicine. We communicated the new concept of integrative medicine to pharmacists, who usually treat Western and Eastern medicine as separate entities. By changing the awareness of pharmacists, we aimed to also change the awareness of the healthcare professionals they work with.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The program has been held at the two locations of Tohto Bunkyo Hospital and Nihon Pharmaceutical University. People working in hospitals, pharmacists, and others were invited to the events. The program consists of a seminar on the theme of integrative medicine presented by a professor of Nihon Pharmaceutical University and a hands-on event using Pharmonic Pizza. Healthcare professionals who are interested in Eastern medicine and Japanese traditional medicine (Kampo) came to understand the integrative medicine pursued by Nihon Pharmaceutical University. We will continue to hold this program on an ongoing basis.

List the results (30% of vote)

After the event, participants’ understanding of Eastern medicine more than doubled as expressed on a 10-point scale (Before the event: average of 3.2 points; After the event: average of 7.1 points). In addition, 85% of participants replied that “I want to recommend this event to the healthcare professionals I work with.” Some 72.7% replied that “I am interested in the Kampo Aroma Course,” and 63.6% replied that “I want to take the Kampo Aroma Course.” Some healthcare professionals also replied that they want to further advance the practice of preventive rehabilitation by combining the Eastern medicine concept of pre-symptomatic medicine with Western medicine. Holding the events has helped encourage the understanding for and accelerate the realization of integrative medicine.