The Allied Health Brand. Awareness, Emotions and Stories to Influence.
Hassan Kadous1 1NSW Health- Ministry Of Health
Abstract
What constitutes the allied health professions? What is the allied health identity? How do we make it appetising for the community & decision makers? The title allied health indicates perhaps a coherent and lasting bond between core or close-knit group of health care professions, sharing some features in common. In reality allied health is a mis-understood term that can be confusing for the general public, system leaders as well as health professionals themselves. How does the allied health brand gel and morph into the mainstream to raise awareness and influence decision making levers? NSW Health Allied Health Unit embarked on a journey to answer these questions.
NSW Health Allied Health branding project, consisted of key input activities with a focus on building brand awareness:
1.Investigation around what common threads between the allied health professions drives an emotionally based consumer brand relationship
2.Diagnosing the mediums that could easily tell the story of allied health – events/days/short films/snips
-Understanding and answering three questions:
what are the influencing and negotiation skills required within and outside healthcare organisations to build the allied health brand?
-What social media and visual identity strategies are needing to be used to better broaden awareness?
-How can healthcare organisations build the allied health brand/identity to shift community and decision making perspectives.
NSW Health Allied health Unit worked towards the solution implementation:
– Developed the short film – Allied Health – ‘Every step of the way’- Highest performing LinkedIn post for NSW Health
– Established the Excellence in Allied Health Awards 2 years running
– Commissioned Allied Health Personas
– Leveraged presence at key decision-making meetings
– Celebrated & targeted the promotion of Allied Health workforce days
– Developed a social media campaign schedule
Biography
Dr Hassan Kadous is a health professional passionate about system transformation and health system equity. He studied Exercise Physiology & Physiotherapy at Sydney University and has completed a Doctorate of Health Business Administration focusing on the needs of CALD Communities. His career spans clinical leadership, facility, district and statewide project and team management. He has successfully led attaining a $34 million dollar allied health workforce investment from NSW Government and lead the NSW Health Airport response during COVID. He currently leads the Allied Health Portfolio at the NSW Health Workforce Branch, focusing on the pipeline, current and future workforces.