Agility and Flexibility Award

Summary of work

The inaugural Global Pain Day 2021 (GPD2021) was a 15-hour interactive, virtual educational event for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals (HCPs) held on 13th October 2021. GPD2021 was designed to enhance knowledge of analgesia within the context of evidence-based management of both acute and chronic pain, particularly addressing new challenges in treating pain brought about by COVID-19. Global experts recognised the need for accessible education in a novel, virtual format that would establish a mechanism for continuous professional development for HCPs around the world managing pain. GPD2021 delivered a range of live presentations, discussions and Q&A sessions with internationallyrenowned experts in the field of pain management alongside on-demand content creating an educational experience that could be accessed at any time irrespective of time zones.

To further confound the challenge of COVID-19, 13th October 2021 also saw a once in a lifetime event – a 75-minute unexpected global internet outage caused by problems with the host server – resulting in on-the-spot flexibility and a rapid response to delegate communications. Despite this, the successful live event impacted the care of 0.7 million patients in pain, and the translated, CPD-approved content is now available on demand to continue improving outcomes worldwide for patients in pain.

Judges' comments

This project by Langland and GSK exceeded targets and brought genuine benefit to patient groups. It had longevity and a clear purpose. It was a large scale, complicated programme which was well considered and implemented. It used the power of the individual to drive intent and engagement beyond the event.