How creativity enhances our commitment to urology

The international EAU initiative Urology Week 2011 was held during the third week of September. This year the focus was on diversity and the commitment of the participants to make an impact – however big or small.

Urology Week aims to create awareness – this year about prostate conditions and urology as a medical speciality – but awareness is an elusive concept and may work differently for different target groups. Awareness among the general public versus the patients, among the young versus the old, medical professionals versus the press: how do we address all these audiences and how do we reach out to them across so many borders to make an impact?

As Prof. Chris Chapple, EAU Adjunct Secretary General, said earlier this year in his address to Urology Week participants: “Creating awareness about urological conditions and urology is something we do every day in our work - we can make a bigger impact if we join our forces together!”

With this in mind, the EAU has worked hard to aggregate all the activities under one roof and inspire the participants to be creative in their approach to awareness events. In this international context, consistency in the approach to individual Urology Week efforts is not productive – as the participants have different financial resources, target audiences and initial awareness levels. It makes much more sense to support all budding, as well as established initiatives in their diversity of methods and objectives. The role of the EAU here is to help the participants to be more proactive in their approach to exchange experiences and to continue looking for effective methods to spread the message.

This year, the EAU has created a practical toolkit for those who would like to know how to engage their audiences and organise an effective and modern awareness campaign. The Urology Week website also got a makeover and is now an effective point-of-reference for all the participants.

This year’s Urology Week joined more than 30 individual events organised internationally – from the Netherlands and Switzerland to Serbia and Iran.

Here is a recap of some of the events which took place during Urology Week 2011.

The Russian Urological Society (ROU) also combined their Urology Week initiative with their national meeting. Many of the urologists who were present at the meeting participated in this initiative which aimed to create awareness about prostate cancer and the early diagnosis of this disease. The participants carried out a street poll with more than a hundred respondents in the city of Kislovodsk – inquiring about their knowledge of the PSA test and offering them information about it.

Here are some tips from the Russian colleagues:

• Engaging with the general public face-to-face paints a great picture of the information level and helps generate ideas for the follow-up initiatives.
  
  
• This sort of initiative is excellent for bringing together and inspiring young urologists towards a pro-active approach to their profession.
  
  

The Azerbaijan Urology Week experience demonstrates the power of individual effort. Indeed every contribution counts and Dr. Parviz Nazirov took an initiative and got himself a guest seat at a weekly health show on the national television. In 20 minutes Dr. Nazirov managed to give a brief overview of the etiology, diagnosis and contemporary management of of prostate diseases. He got much response from the general public, with many viewers calling after the show.

Here are some tips from Dr. Nazirov on how to get noticed and get your message across.

• Prepare yourself. Dr. Nazirov said he used many of the EAU publications, especially European Urology, to give himself enough information to be able to answer even the trickiest of questions.
  
  
• Get a sponsor. Pharmaceutical companies are enthusiastic to sponsor such initiatives and many have good contacts with the media, nationally and regionally.

Hopefully these events have inspired you to join Urology Week 2012. Visit this site once in a while for updates and new information on next year’s campaign!

Belgium is a great example how Urology Week is not only an initiative of urology professionals but can also thrive in the hands of patient groups or the general public. “Wij Ook” (“Us Too”) is an organisation which supports prostate cancer patients, their family and friends and also aims to bring more attention to prostate conditions among the general public and the officials.

Here is what “Wij Ook” organised this year in Belgium in the city of Antwerp.

• An informative walk against prostate cancer in the city centre gathered over 200 people - men with prostate conditions and their spouses. Interestingly, this walk did not aim to address the seriousness of the situation in which prostate cancer patients find themselves – instead this day was dedicated to the positive outlook on life, to the fact than men with prostate condition can and should be able to have respect of the society and live a normal life.
  
  
• A workshop for prostate cancer patients which brought together PCa experts and patients, enabling them to discuss a wide range of relevant issues. The angle here is that the workshop is driven by the patients, empowering them to be proactive in their own treatment planning.
  
  

“Wij Ook” has organised many events over the past decade and they have much experience to share. If you want to know more about the Urology Week 2011 event in Anwerp, you can watch a short film about it above. If you would like to organise something like this in your country and have some question or ideas, you can contact Prof. Louis Denis.