Highly commended
Severe Asthma Index
by The Weber Shandwick Collective for Sanofi and Regeneron
Summary of work
Seeking a political rethink of severe asthma management in key markets had led Sanofi and Regeneron to a familiar quandary: How do you achieve real change in healthcare with thousands of chronic illnesses competing for attention? Our experience showed that headline-grabbing PR achieved only limited cut-through. Instead, we needed to speak the true language of policy: Data.
That would be a challenge. Inconsistent reporting between health systems across the OECD meant the available data on severe asthma was highly disaggregated – a key reason why the issue was not provoking action. There was no universal truth. We needed to create a new platform with comparable data between like-for-like indicators across health systems, so that gaps in prevention, provision and policy were immediately apparent. Without being confronted with evidence of where their country was above or below an international benchmark, policymakers just wouldn’t prioritise the disease.
Enter the ‘Severe Asthma Index’ – a landmark study comparing end-to-end severe asthma strategy in 29 OECD countries. A year in the making and driven through an interactive website that allowed policymakers to explore the results in detail, it has already generated support from MEPs, interest from the European Commission, and advocacy from leading respiratory health organisations.
Judges’ comments
The Severe Asthma Index is a great piece of work. The judges loved the ambition and how it used a tool to generate action and conversation across the globe. The fact that it continuously updates is impressive and it has an elegant platform for such an important condition that impacts massively in health depravation. The laser focus on policy makers and the information they need is outstanding.
