The Porterhouse Medical Award for Excellence in Professional Education Programmes

Summary of work

With early diagnosis and prompt treatment, people with HIV can lead normal lives and the rate of onward transmission is reduced. However, in the UK, two out of five people with HIV are diagnosed late, and 17% remain undiagnosed. Those diagnosed late may not access HIV tests in other settings, but the majority (75%) of people with undiagnosed HIV commonly present to primary care, often with signs and symptoms of HIV. ‘Change the Face of HIV’ (CTFOH) was a campaign developed by GPs, for GPs, to capture their hearts and minds and educate, inspire and motivate GPs to start HIV testing. Designed to overcome the many barriers to testing, CTFOH took a dual approach to change GP behaviour. Firstly, through standout creative content, deployed across social and digital channels, and via media outreach, the campaign reached GPs at a national level, and prompted them to start ‘thinking’ to test for HIV. Secondly, working in collaboration with CCGs in high prevalence HIV areas, the campaign embedded education and training materials to support GP learning on the ground, to engage them in when, how and why to test, and to equip them with the skills to do so.

Judges' comments

We  liked this innovative, integrated programme that displayed real creativity and marked an exciting development in professional education. It built in the patient perspective and harnessed it around inventive tactics and strong promotional engagement plans. They demonstrated a real desire to improve patients’ lives and it really stood out for us.