PC2112: International Collaborative Grand Rounds (ICGRx): An Opportunity to Come Together as a Global Multidisciplinary Community

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a fundamental reconsideration of how society operates within an international community. The response to the global pandemic has represented largely unfamiliar territory for many nations raising questions surrounding the efficacy and equity of public health strategies in different societal circumstances. There exists, however, a commonality within the variable responses: it is paramount that lessons are learnt from past actions to better prepare for future infectious diseases outbreaks as a global community. To address these topics, an international panel of experts came together at the International Collaborative Grand Rounds (ICGRx) Summit in June 2020 to explore humanity’s response to arguably the most significant healthcare challenges in a generation.

Methods: ICGRx 2020 was held June 28th, 2020 on the HopIn virtual conference platform. Seven one-hour sessions featuring world-renowned panelists discussed the following topics: “How healthcare students and professionals are leading the fight against COVID-19,” “Evolution of healthcare in the wake of COVID-19: pathology, primary care and ICU perspectives,” Medical Technology and Innovation,” “Impact of COVID-19 on Society,” “Gender disparities in Medicine,” “Diversity in Healthcare,” and “Prioritizing Patient Safety.” The global reach of the program was assessed based on social media metrics. After the event, a survey was sent to all participants with questions regarding their background and assessment questions using Likert Scales.

Results: The virtual platform ICGRx brought together over 1500 students, patients, clinicians, academics and stakeholders from 43 countries. Panelists included individuals from England, USA, India, Zambia, Australia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada. Their backgrounds included healthcare students, nurses, doctors, scientists, and businesspeople.
The post-event survey collected 340 respondents (23% response rate). The respondents were 46.8% medical students, 17.1% doctors in training, 16.5% college students, and a collection of attendings, nurses, allied healthcare professionals, patients, entrepreneurs, and educators. 91.2% of respondents felt that the summit improved their knowledge of key healthcare challenges globally and 80.2% reported that the use of the virtual studio and technology platform enabled them to have a more engaged and interactive experience.
Regarding exposure, social media metrics determined that ICGRx had a potential reach of 1.11 million individuals.

Conclusion: Through ICGRx, we hope to spark further discussion among the international community about the successes and failures of addressing pandemics and inequality. Understanding the heterogeneity of societies around the globe is integral to tailoring public health measures to better meet the needs of populations and improve health outcomes. While quantitative analysis plays a crucial role in determining the success of public health measures, societal heterogeneity makes direct statistical comparison between nations challenging. International dialogue can aid in understanding intricate and variable social contexts and represents a significant step towards optimization of public health responses to global pandemics and inequality in the future.