Categoría: Influencers

NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — As the United States surpasses four million confirmed COVID-19 cases, data show that Black and Latinx communities are much harder hit, with higher rates of infection and Black and Latinx people are more than twice as likely to die from the virus as white people. This inequity and the ongoing racial justice crisis may leave these same communities with significant trust gaps that lead to lower participation in government-led mitigation strategies such as contact tracing. Today, Vital Strategies released research findings from dozens of interviews with Black and Latinx people and community leaders on what types of messages are most likely to engage communities of color, meet their needs and address their concerns.

«Contact tracing is one of the key components to reduce the spread of COVID-19 but Black and Latinx people, who are among the hardest hit communities may be least likely to participate if efforts to engage them aren’t grounded in their experiences,» said Sandra Mullin, Senior Vice President, Policy, Advocacy and Communication with Vital Strategies. «It won’t matter how many contact tracers we have if no one answers the phone, disregards their message, or responds with skepticism. Our research suggests that people are more likely to answer the call if the effort has been promoted, endorsed and reinforced by trusted community leaders and if the messages are empowering and engender a sense of agency and self-determination.»

Seeking to understand which media messages and messengers would promote participation in contact tracing, Vital Strategies conducted focus groups with African Americans, other people of African descent, and Latinx people in New York and Philadelphia. Key findings suggested that to successfully engage these audiences in contact tracing:

• Contact tracers must be local, culturally competent, and empathetic.
• Contact tracing needs to be better explained.
• Local organizations can engender community buy-in.
• People need to be reassured about their confidentiality.

‘BE THE ONE’ was the concept that resonated most with the focus groups as it centers on the individual’s participation in contact tracing as the key to helping their communities. By taking specific actions, such as answering the call from a contact tracing, people can help stop the spread of the virus.

«The Black and Latinx people we interviewed were all too familiar with COVID-19,» said Denene Rodney, President and CEO of Zebra Strategies, a private research company that conducted the focus groups. «We heard stories of lost loved ones, distrust in the government and marginalization in the COVID-19 response. But we also saw that messages that highlight how contact tracing is rooted in neighborhoods generated a lot of enthusiasm for participating. We hope this data encourages governments to mount community engagement efforts grounded in these messages.»

Twelve focus groups with a total of 88 people participated.  The groups consisted of African American, English and Spanish-speaking Latinx, and Black immigrant communities in New York City and Philadelphia.

To learn more about Vital Strategies’ Resolve to Save Lives Contact Tracing work and to read the complete findings of these focus groups, click here. 

About Resolve to Save Lives

Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, aims to prevent at least 100 million deaths from cardiovascular disease and epidemics. Through its Prevent Epidemics program, Resolve to Save Lives has rapidly leveraged existing networks to partner with countries throughout Africa and beyond to combat COVID-19. Resolve is led by Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is part of the global health organization Vital Strategies. To find out more visit: www.resolvetosavelives.org or Twitter @ResolveTSL.

Resolve to Save Lives created a website called PreventEpidemics.org that shows how prepared each country is for an epidemic, including COVID-19, and how many flights are coming and going from infected countries. This site is also a resource for current coronavirus statistics and resources.

Resolve to Save Lives’ US COVID-19 Response Program works with public health officials and health department staff to strengthen their efforts on prevention strategies, testing, isolation and quarantine, contact tracing and community engagement in order to meet the goals of protecting public health and safely reopening communities and economies.

About Vital Strategies: 

Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. We work with governments and civil society in 73 countries to design and implement evidence-based strategies that tackle their most pressing public health problems. Our goal is to see governments adopt promising interventions at scale as rapidly as possible. To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat.

Stay in the know:  Follow #KnowCOVID or subscribe to Vital Strategies’ Twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-governments-should-address-devastating-impact-of-covid-19-on-communities-of-color-with-focused-contact-tracing-campaigns-community-engagement-301106621.html

SOURCE Vital Strategies

PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — WCG, the world’s leading provider of solutions that measurably improve the quality and efficiency of clinical trials, is pleased to announce that two company leaders have been featured in PharmaVOICE magazine’s annual July/August issue showcasing the 100 most inspiring individuals in the global life sciences industry. Donald A. Deieso, PhD, WCG’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Dawn Flitcraft, President of WCG’s Ethical Review Division, were recognized for the transformational work they are doing to drive a new era of clinical trials that enables collaboration across the research community, improves the patient experience and accelerates drug development.

«Dr. Donald Deieso’s mission is to ensure his company, WCG, and his colleagues, are consistently focused on saving lives,» says Taren Grom, editor, PharmaVOICE. «This dedication to a higher purpose epitomizes Dr. Deieso’s spirit as a human being and as a leader in the life-sciences industry. His courageous commitment to changing the status quo of the conduct of clinical trials is inspiring, not only to his teams, but to the entire industry. PharmaVOICE is honored to recognize his legacy of innovation on behalf of patients and caregivers as well as for his vision in creating a better tomorrow.»

Dr. Deieso is the recipient of a 2020 Red Jacket Award, which honors individuals who have been recognized multiple times throughout the years as a PharmaVOICE 100 inspiring leader and who continue to demonstrate a commitment to leadership, innovation, mentoring and philanthropy. In both 2016 and 2019, Dr. Deieso was named to the prestigious PharmaVOICE 100 in recognition of his integrity, vision, and ability to influence change across the global life sciences industry with his relentless commitment to doing what’s right for patients and their caregivers, while addressing opportunities to meaningfully reduce the burden on clinical trial participants and improve clinical trial programs. Under his leadership, WCG has grown across its two divisions – WIRB-Copernicus IRB, the oldest and largest commercial IRB, and WCG Clinical Services, the first clinical services organization (CSO) focused on improving the conduct of trials for the benefit of patient participants, sponsors, CROs, and investigative sites. Through the evolution of WCG, the company has never lost its focus on the primary mission – setting the highest standards of human participant protection. 

Among hundreds of nominees, PharmaVOICE also selected Dawn Flitcraft, President of WCG’s Ethical Review Division, as one of 2020’s 100 most inspiring leaders. She drives the strategic direction and overall operations for the five institutional review boards (IRBs) that comprise the WCG IRBs – WIRB, Copernicus, Aspire, New England, and Midlands; as well as its Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs), which provide oversight for human gene therapy and human gene transfer; and for IRBNet, the leading compliance and research oversight technology for institutions and VA Medical Centers. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, she has led the mobilization of WCG’s IRBs to support clinical trial sponsors and the industry more broadly in navigating uncharted waters through the pandemic. Flitcraft spearheaded efforts to bring thought leaders and operational staff together to provide needed guidance for researchers who were challenged by the many scientific uncertainties of COVID-19.   Recognizing the need for WCG to join the growing collaboration among those clients advancing coronavirus interventions, Dawn waived WCG’s initial protocol review fees assuring that administrative burdens would not stand in the way of prompt industry responses to the global crisis.  Most important, she emphasized WCG’s commitment to the highest standards of scientific rigor and ethical values in the ethical reviews.

«When the world faces a crisis, especially one of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, true leaders rise to the challenge and achieve remarkable results, and Dawn is undoubtedly among them and incredibly deserving of this honor,» said Dr. Deieso. «Dawn’s deep clinical trial expertise, dedication to patients and exceptional leadership skills have long been valued within WCG and throughout our industry.  What has been especially noteworthy in the COVID-19 crisis, is her ability to inspire people with her passion to see challenges as an opportunity to innovate.»

Taren Grom of PharmaVOICE went on to add, «Dawn has demonstrated inspired leadership in the face of the current pandemic, remaining steadfast in her commitment to the IRB community and doing what’s right for patients. PharmaVOICE is proud to honor her as one of the most inspiring individuals in the life-sciences industry.»

Dr. Deieso commented: «Recognitions such as these from PharmaVOICE and industry peers are a direct reflection of the WCG team’s steadfast determination and commitment to the research community and the patients we all serve. I’m honored to work alongside such a mission-driven team and colleagues who are passionate about finding better, smarter ways to do things. The opportunity to profoundly benefit patients, both individually and at the population level, inspires the work we do every day and a tremendous sense of urgency to achieve our goals.»

To learn more about Dr. Deieso and Flitcraft’s inspiring leadership and their work at WCG, read their profiles in PharmaVOICE’s July/August 2020 digital edition of the magazine: https://www.pharmavoice.com/digital-edition/july-august-2020#1.

About WCG

WCG is the world’s leading provider of solutions that measurably improve the quality and efficiency of clinical research. Comprised of two divisions – the industry’s first central IRB – WIRB-Copernicus IRB, and first clinical services organization (CSO) – WCG enables biopharmaceutical companies, CROs, and institutions to accelerate the delivery of new treatments and therapies to patients, while maintaining the highest standards of human subject protection. For more information, please visit www.wcgclinical.com or follow us on Twitter @WCGClinical or LinkedIn.

About PharmaVOICE

PharmaVOICE is expressly written and designed to deliver the views, opinions, and insights of executives who are shaping the direction of the dynamic life-sciences industry. PharmaVOICE reaches more than 46,000 BPA qualified subscribers and is distributed to 60,000 industry executives with its digital edition. Our circulation includes executives from pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotechnology, drug discovery, research & development, contract research, drug delivery, and device/diagnostic companies. The publication also targets decision makers at healthcare advertising, marketing, medical education, public relations, information technology, contract sales, traditional and nontraditional media, and other service support companies and organizations. The publication also reaches more than 60,000 users with its digital edition, which contains original exclusive bonus content. For more information, please visit www.pharmavoice.com.

For more than 15 years, PharmaVOICE magazine has recognized the most inspirational, motivational, and transformative individuals across the global life sciences industry in its annual July/August PharmaVOICE 100 issue. Among the thousands of executives nominated, PharmaVOICE selects 100 leaders based on substantive accounts that demonstrate how they have inspired or motivated their colleagues, peers, and competitors; have positively contributed to their own companies; and have given back to their communities and supported philanthropic causes. Honorees represent a broad cross-section of the global life sciences industry – from pharmaceutical and biotechnology, to contract research and technology, to academia and nonprofit organizations – and a wide variety of functional areas ranging from the clinic to the C-suite.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wcg-leaders-honored-among-pharmavoice-100-most-inspiring-people-301106545.html

SOURCE WCG

BEAVERTON, Ore., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Leanpath, the world’s leading food waste prevention technology provider, is pleased to announce we are now a Certified B Corporation – joining only 3,400 other companies around the globe that are committed to balancing purpose and profit. B Corps face a rigorous review process and are legally required to consider stakeholders as well as shareholders in their business model.

Leanpath has been on a mission for 16 years to effect social and environmental change along with providing measurable financial benefits to customers. In addition to educating the foodservice industry on the pressing need to prevent food waste, we recently announced ongoing donations to nonprofits under the Leanpath 12.3 Initiative. Since 2014 alone, we’ve helped foodservice organizations prevent over 55 million pounds of food from going to waste.

«At Leanpath we know that if you’re totally focused on driving meaningful and positive change, good business will follow,» states Leanpath co-founder and CEO Andrew Shakman. «It was that core belief that enabled us to build Leanpath into a global organization fighting food waste in over 40 countries. Becoming a Certified B Corp represents a natural progression as it formalizes our core beliefs and commitments in an enduring structure.»

Leanpath is responding to the needs of a changing industry, because the importance of controlling food waste hasn’t changed. This certification comes at a time when the pandemic has pushed the public to ask more of the private sector – and food and beverage companies in particular. 

According to the 2020 Global Food Trends Report conducted by communications firm Edelman, «Doing good for society is becoming an expectation for F&B companies.» Food waste ranked as the most pressing issue of concern for food and beverage companies among consumers in the survey.

Leanpath’s B Corp certification assures foodservice organizations and their clients that working with Leanpath is a way to further their sustainability and societal goals with a trusted and committed partner.

This week Leanpath also announced the launch of Leanpath Go, a new food waste tracking platform specifically addressing new industry realities brought on by the pandemic. Look for more innovations soon.

About Leanpath
Leanpath is a mission-driven technology company making food waste prevention and measurement everyday practice in the world’s kitchens. Offices are located in the U.S., U.K., Spain, and Australia. Find us at www.leanpath.com. 

Contact:
Sam Smith
9712798228
244798@email4pr.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leanpath-achieves-b-corp-certification-301106589.html

SOURCE Leanpath