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ABOUT THE APPIS INNOVATOR PROGRAM
Launched in 2022, the APPIS Innovator Program recognizes and supports patient organizations in APMA that have excelled in improving patient access to the right information, treatment, and care.
Every year, our esteemed expert panel of judges select winners based on submissions, with each submission undergoing a rigorous evaluation process based on five key criteria: impact, innovation, potential to scale, fit to category, and progression. Shortlisted contestants will then be invited to participate to a closed door pitch to present their initiatives where the winners will be selected.
The program partners with the winning patient organizations to help scale their innovative patient solutions to bring them closer to achieving their mission of helping more patients have better access to healthcare.
Watch this video to learn more about the APPIS Innovator Program
The partnership and support that we received allowed us to reach more patients and help them to adapt better health-seeking behaviours and be proactive in taking care of their health. I’d encourage any patient organization to apply for this year’s program.
Paul Mendoza
President, Psoriasis Philippines and Psoriasis Asia Pacific, Winner of Innovator Program 2022
WHY APPLY?
Network
APPIS network and partnership with platform and on-going engagement strategic stakeholders
Financial Support
To be channeled back to the initiative to create even bigger impact
Visibility
Promotion of the initiative through APPIS platform and on-going engagement
Coaching
Consistent coaching/membership and create even bigger impact guidance from thought leaders within the patient community
Qualifying Criteria for Patient Organizations
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Any patient organization that is officially registered and demonstrating impact within Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.
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The organization must have an initiative that is on-going, or "live" at the time of submission.
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The organization will have proven outcome or impact within their intended patient community, within the last 2 years.
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Must be able to accurately represent the work done and impact achieved.
Health Literacy
Innovative and impactful initiatives that have significantly driven disease awareness and scientific/medical knowledge sharing.
Health Policy Shaping
Programs or methodologies that have enabled or accelerated access to healthcare, information, prevention, treatment or care, through partnerships between patients and policy makers.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Impact
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What value has the initiative brought to patients?
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How has it solved problems for patients?
Innovation
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Is it original and innovative?
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Does it take a future-ready approach, and apply disruptive digital and/or comms tools and technologies?
Potential to Scale
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Is it a one-off initiative or one that can scale and grow?
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Is it a replicable model that can be adapted by other countries and/or disease areas?
Fit to Category
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Does it address current gaps in Health Literacy or aid in Health Policy Shaping, in the key disease areas of interest:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Oncology
- Neuromuscular disease
- Immunological disease
Progression
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Does the initiative show growth or improvement from the time of inception?
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How can the support from the Innovator program help it further scale the initiative and increase impact?
APPIS INNOVATOR PROGRAM 2024
Our 2024 Program at a glance
49
Entries
21
Countries and territories
7
Finalists
3
Winners
We want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all patient organizations who have taken part in the program for their continuous efforts in bringing positive change to the lives of patients in their countries. Find out more about our winners and how they are creating impact on the ground for their communities below.
So Brave (Australia)
So Brave is an Australian initiative that brings together young breast cancer survivors to raise awareness of breast cancer in young women aged 15-40. This is done through ‘SMART women are #breastaware’ workshops and the ‘Youth Health Leadership Program’ – programs which have been running in collaboration with high schools and universities across Australia since 2018.
Through the APPIS Innovator Program, So Brave is planning to further expand the reach of these programs and educate more young women about breast health and the need for early detection and prevention measures. This includes training five new facilitators, delivering 15 new sessions and a 10% increase in So Brave brand awareness, to enable new engagement opportunities in more schools.
Through this partnership, So Brave is poised to expand its reach further and fill a critical gap in health literacy for breast health education and advocacy amongst young Australian women.
For information, visit https://sobrave.org.au
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So Brave is honoured to win the APPIS Innovator Program award. As Australia’s only young women’s breast cancer charity, we look forward to scaling our education and awareness program and making a lasting impact on the young women of Australia.
Rachelle Panitz
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Managing Director and Founder of So Brave Australia
Breast Health Foundation (South Africa)
In South Africa, breast cancer education programs fail to address diverse cultural beliefs and health literacy levels. This gap has been identified by the Breast Health Foundation, an organization committed to combating breast cancer through education, awareness, and support services.
Through its partnership with the APPIS Innovator Program, the Breast Health Foundation aims to prioritize breast cancer care in every community, overcome cultural barriers and promote more accurate understanding of breast cancer so that no woman faces late-stage cancer due to lack of awareness or access to care.
This includes the use of a Breast Health Awareness Assessment tool to understand current understanding as well as misconceptions around breast health in some of South Africa’s most vulnerable communities. Through these assessments, the Breast Health Foundation aims to leverage this evidence-based information to tailor interventions and educational efforts to the specific needs of each demographic.
Through its partnership with the APPIS Innovator Program, the Breast Health Foundation aims to expand its reach, develop targeted interventions, and strengthen partnerships to enhance the effectiveness of its initiatives.
For information, visit https://www.mybreast.org.za
The BHF is thrilled to be selected as an APPIS Innovator winner.
This opportunity will significantly expand our outreach to vulnerable women in rural and peri-urban areas, offering crucial education, screening support, and culturally sensitive breast health awareness initiatives.
Louise Turner
COO/Director of Breast Health Foundation
Cancer Warriors Foundation Philippines
The Cancer Warriors Foundation (CWF) Philippines is dedicated to helping save lives, build better futures and keep hope alive for children and adolescents living with cancer as well as young cancer survivors and their families.
CWF recognizes that, despite national efforts to promote and support cancer prevention and control in the Philippines, there remain huge gaps in cancer care delivery, with striking disparities between rural, peri-urban, and urban populations.
The National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA) is a vital legislation in the Philippines aimed at addressing the increasing burden of cancer. Through the APPIS Innovator Program, CWF is aiming to advance and accelerate the localization of NICCA through the creation and dissemination of a handbook, designed to support Local Government units and other stakeholders through step-by-step guidelines and tailored recommendations. Through this program, CWF hopes to drive momentum to address the complex challenges in cancer control, clarify myths about cancer care and ensure patients, survivors and families are heard, valued and included in health policy shaping in the Philippines.
For information, visit https://c-warriors.org
We are honored and inspired by this recognition. Partnering with
APPIS will enable us to scale up our whole of government and whole
of society initiatives to transform cancer care, localize the nation’s
integrated cancer control act for better care and more cures.
Carmen Auste
Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Warriors Foundation Philippines
APPIS INNOVATOR PROGRAM 2023
Our 2023 Program at a glance
31
Entries
16
Countries and territories
5
Finalists
3
Winners
An esteemed expert panel of judges selected the three winners from a shortlist of five finalists. The winners will receive support to help them scale and improve their existing programs in the form of mentoring, networking opportunities, funding, and coaching.
Siriraj Center of Research Excellent in Neuromuscular Disease (SiCORE NMD) (Thailand):
The Siriraj Center of Research Excellence in Neuromuscular Disease (SiCORE NMD)’s mission is to build patient capability and foster stronger relationships within Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patient groups and between neuromuscular disease organizations.
Through the APPIS partnership, its goal was to widen the accessibility and awareness of newborn screening for neuromuscular diseases through its ‘Neuromuscular-Get-Trophy’ program. The program exceeded its KPIs, including the participation of 15 families in neuromuscular day activities, capability-building for six patient advocate leaders and the delivery of six disease awareness workshops aimed at patients and the general public. A key outcome was also a positive meeting between the SMA Thailand Group and The National Health Security Office, a critical stakeholder in local policy-shaping, to discuss collaborative efforts in raising awareness, conducting newborn screening and other relevant initiatives.
Through this program, SiCORE NMD has increased the physical and emotional wellbeing of patients and caregivers and boosted their advocacy skills, while also empowering the patient community to be involved in shaping health policies that address the needs of SMA in Taiwan.
For information, visit https://www.si.mahidol.ac.th/th/division/SiNMD
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Cancer Association of South Africa (South Africa)
The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) enables research, educates the public and advocates and supports people in South Africa living with cancer.
Through the APPIS Innovator Program, CANSA expanded the breadth and depth of its virtual Telecounselling Program, established in 2020 to provide critical support to cancer patients and caregivers across South Africa.
As a result of the program, two social workers were recruited and trained to deliver the program in two additional languages (Sesotho and Siswati), the number of Telecounselling beneficiaries increased by 5% and CANSA achieved a 10% increase in program awareness. This is benefiting previously underserved South African communities.
The Telecounseling service has had a profound impact on the cancer community, with patients and caregivers reporting that they feel less isolated, more supported and better equipped to navigate their cancer journey. With the program’s success, CANSA is well positioned to expand the reach of the program beyond South Africa.
For information, visit www.cansa.org.za
HOPE Foundation for Cancer Care (Taiwan)
The goal of HOPE Foundation for Cancer Care is to develop health education messages for leukemia patients, to help make information more accurate, relevant and accessible.
The APPIS Innovator Program has supported the HOPE Foundation to ensure the delivery of relevant, personalized and quality disease information to patients. To tackle the challenge faced of seeking reliable medical information online, three educational videos and three podcast episodes were produced to address misconceptions and provide accurate information about cancer.
The popularity of local social media platform, LINE, was leveraged to seamlessly deliver personalized disease information to patients based on their personal needs and interests, and minimize their time spent searching for relevant information. The videos received +235,000 impressions, the podcasts received +1,100 downloads, friend count increased by 34% and the push content received a satisfaction rate of 78%, reinforcing its relevance to the audience and effectiveness.
For information, visit http://www.ecancer.org.tw
Read more about how APPIS has partnered with our 2022 winners here.
APPIS INNOVATOR PROGRAM 2022
Our 2022 Program at a glance
23
Entries
11
Countries and territories
5
Finalists
2
Winners
An esteemed expert panel of judges selected the winners under the categories of 'Health Literacy' and 'Health Policy Shaping' from a shortlist of five finalists based on their impact, innovation, sustainability and scalability.
ICanServe Foundation streamlines the breast cancer screening journey using data and digital tools
In the Philippines, breast cancer is the leading cause of mortality in women aged 35 to 54. To promote early detection, early diagnosis, access to timely and quality care of breast cancer, the APPIS Innovator Program and software startup Dashlabs supported the ICanServe Foundation in the Philippines to launch the Circle of Life initiative. This initiative aimed to develop a data and digital infrastructure of the organization's Ating Dibdibin breast cancer control program to streamline the screening journey.
To kick-off the process and better understand the bottlenecks in the health system, the Foundation conducted indepth interviews with patients, patient navigators, HCPs in community health centers to ensure the digital platform would overcome common pain points and be accessible and user-friendly for patient navigators. After using collated feedback to develop the digital platform and streamlined process, 23,000 women received breast cancer screenings, shortening the average time from diagnosis-to-treatment from 9 months to 45 days.
Additionally, the initiative helped to train more than 90 healthcare workers, with more impact expected across the country, as the program provided a digital infrastructure for data driven decision making, as well as a playbook for other local government units to plan and implement similar breast cancer control programs.
The Circle of Life initiative demonstrates the ability data and digital infrastructures have to simplify complex public health challenges and their potential to save lives.
Read for more details here.
PsorPhil amplifies the patient voice through an online series
The APPIS Innovator Program also partnered with Psoriasis Philippines to broaden their weekly online show
'Weekends with PsorPh'l' which targets people living with psoriasis, to an expanded and more inclusive show entitled 'Wellness Weekends Philippines' (WWP). The expanded program streams every Saturday and covers other conditions such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as psoriasis.
WWP has also produced a mini-series called My Patient Journey. The WWP Team partnered with 35 HCPs and 40 patient leaders and health advocates, and visited the patients at their homes and interviewed them about their patient journey. They shared their experience, how their condition started, how they were diagnosed, what are the burdens and challenges, and their aspirations as a patient. The WWP Team also visited doctors so they could give an overview of the condition.
WWP broadcast reached over 260,000 views in total and improved its live viewership by having an average of 600-800 views per live episode across Facebook and YouTube.
WWP has become one of the trusted channels for accurate and relevant information about health conditions, and its achievement demonstrates the power of storytelling through digital platforms to support patients to access accurate and scientific information to initiate meaningful discussions with their physicians.
Find out more, watch their videos and support their YouTube Channel here.
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