Proposal

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The Bladder Health Exhibit

Introduction

The Simon Foundation for Continence's Bladder Health Exhibit (BHE) project is a new and innovative method to elevate the stature of bladder related conditions, remove the stigma surrounding the bladder, and provide public awareness and education at the community level about important health conditions which impact people's lives. Of course, education about incontinence and overactive bladder will be at the heart
of this endeavor.

We know that taboos, stigma, and embarrassment cause millions to remain close to their homes, afraid to be far from a toilet for fear of being wet in public. For that reason, the Bladder Health Exhibit will bring education into America's communities, stopping at several locations in even the smallest communities. Individuals will not have to travel but minutes from their homes to visit an exhibit and talk to a health professional that will be available to answer all of their questions.

Because the BHE will focus on all bladder related conditions (bladder cancer, interstitial cystitis, urinary tract infections, overactive bladder, and incontinence) individuals with incontinence should feel more comfortable visiting the exhibit.

The aim of this project is to provide education, to increase public awareness of incontinence, over-active bladder and all bladder-related conditions, to facilitate dialogue between consumers and their healthcare professionals, and to be a catalyst for media coverage.

The Bladder Health Mobile and Exhibit

The Bladder Health Mobile is a high-impact cargo van uniquely painted with the program’s signature colors and logo. Even before the exhibit is off-loaded, the vehicle itself will attract attention and help to communicate a message that bladder health is an important topic. When the Bladder Health Mobile reaches a target destination, the materials and equipment will be off-loaded and set up in public areas in hospitals, libraries, YWCAs, and other public venues, such as community health fairs, conferences, and shopping malls, to create an instant, enriching and educational environment to promote bladder health. Please click here to see the floorplan of the exhibit.

The Midwestern Region

When this project is ready to launch, the Bladder Health Exhibit project will roll out in the Midwest Region. After a Chicago city-wide launch, the exhibit will travel throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. To build momentum and gain exposure, we will initially target high-population (Tier One) cities.

To maximize exposure, the BHE will, whenever possible, work in tandem with local events, such as health fairs, grand openings of assisted living facilities, hospital anniversaries, etc. We will establish a route once we have made all of the appropriate contacts and appointments.

Local Network of Health Professionals

The Simon Foundation will build a strong network of health professionals throughout the Midwest region, interfacing with Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA) and Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nurses (WOCN), American Urogynecological Society (AUGS), and the American Urological Association (AUA) to identify professionals to lead a welcome committee for the vehicle and to conduct local educational events.

The welcome committee will become the local media spokespersons for the program and assist Simon’s staff with logistical support and publicity; in addition, they will provide relevant seminars on bladder-related issues in conjunction with the Bladder Health Exhibit’s presence in their community. The presence of local, recognizable health professionals will lend instant credibility to the program and identify interested and knowledgeable health care professionals who can offer consumers continuity of care once the Bladder Health Exhibit has moved on to another city.

Program Staffing

The Bladder Health Exhibit will be staffed by a Logistics Coordinator. This person will be charged with making the appropriate contacts in target cities, such as medical institutions, shopping malls, drug stores, libraries, schools, etc., working with local media to promote the vehicle and bladder education programs, and coordinating lodging and routes with the community facilitator. The program will also be supported by a Field Program Director who will work with the community facilitator and welcome committee, drive the vehicle from destination to destination, manage the inventory, supervise set-up of the exhibit (s), and interact with exhibit visitors.

Educational Exhibit and Materials

The BHE will utilize existing learning resources whenever possible. For instance, the Simon Foundation has overactive bladder and incontinence educational resources, such as fact sheets, newsletters, books, and videos. We have already started forging relationships with other non-profit health advocacy organizations, such as International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Disease, and the Interstitial Cystitis Association, in order to tap into their expertise and educational resources.

The BHE exhibit will feature the following 5 areas:

Answer Area — One of the most unique aspects of the BHE project is the Answer Area. This area will be staffed with a local health professional that will interact with visiting consumers and answer their bladder-related questions. In addition to a live dialogue, visitors will receive a referral list of local specialists to take home.
Product Displays and Audiovisuals — This portion of the center will feature audio-visuals, such as videos, and examples of various products and devices.
Educational Materials (Industry-produced) — This section will feature materials developed and distributed by industry members. Consumers may take away as much literature as they feel appropriate.
Educational Materials (Non-profit produced) — This section will feature materials developed and distributed by various non-profit health advocacy organizations. The Simon Foundation is building a broad coalition of non-profit organizations that will be willing to provide us with high-quality educational materials for distribution. We anticipate offering materials from the American Foundation for Urologic Disease, American Cancer Society, National Kidney Foundation, International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Disease, the Interstitial Cystitis Association and others.
Health/Attitude Survey — The exhibit will also provide a place where visitors can fill out a brief health/attitude survey and express if they would like to receive additional information.

Community Health Promotion

The Bladder Health Exhibit is designed to be a catalyst to raise awareness and increase knowledge about “misbehaving bladders” within every community and metropolitan area it visits. The Simon Foundation will work in tandem with local health care professionals and hospitals to organize a patient education group program called I Will Manage: A Proven Program of Care in tandem with BHE’s arrival in an area.

I Will Manage is a hospital-based, professionally led, multidisciplinary patient education program which explores why incontinence happens, cures and treatments, products and devices, and coping with the emotional challenges of incontinence.

Although the BHE will only be in a location for several days, we anticipate that the local welcoming committee will continue bladder health lectures on other conditions, such as cancer and urinary tract infections for many weeks. Although the Bladder Health Exhibit will be in a community for a few days, bladder health programs will continue for many weeks.

Media

The BHE vehicle's high impact design is intended to help focus media attention on its arrival in every community, and on bladder health. Of course, as the BHE is a Simon Foundation's program, we will have the opportunity to focus media interviews on incontinence and overactive bladder. In addition to the intense media campaign launched in every target city, the Simon Foundation will work closely to help the local welcoming committee promote bladder health within their practice and the general medical community with promotional materials for hospitals, pharmacies, libraries, general practices, and other appropriate locations.

National Expansion

It is our goal to expand the BHE program as quickly as possible, region by region until there are BHE's criss-crossing the US with the several important messages:

The bladder is an important organ within the body
Stigma surrounding the bladder and other healthcare issues can be removed
There are preventative measures which can be taken to avoid many bladder conditions
Healthy bladder habits are key to continued good health
See your doctor

Goals and Objectives

These are the broad, ultimate aims of the Bladder Health Exhibit Program:

To increase, on the individual consumer level, knowledge of the bladder and its attendant issues, such as incontinence, overactive bladder, bladder cancer, interstitial cystitis, and urinary tract infections.
To increase knowledge, on both the consumer and the provider level, of current products and treatment options.
To increase the number of consumers, women and men, young and old, who seek treatment for bladder concerns.
To build the capacity of health care professionals to respond compassionately and with appropriate knowledge to patient presenting with bladder-related symptoms.
To increase public awareness of incontinence as a serious, but treatable health issue, and to help reduce the stigma associated with bladder conditions.