Excellence in Healthcare Partnerships

Summary of work

Right now, more than 300,000 people in the UK are living with a lifelong disease that many people have never heard of. In fact, the real number could be almost double that. Many of the people in the UK living with Crohn’s or Colitis feel that there’s a lack of awareness, empathy and understanding of their condition.

Crohn’s & Colitis UK and Takeda partnered to create the immersive app experience – In My Shoes: 24 Hours with Crohn’s or Colitis. The app enables people to step in the shoes of someone living with Crohn’s or Colitis and understand the impact of these conditions on daily life.

The partnership was a true collaboration from the start and with the support of digital agency Electric Putty and communications agency Mearns & Pike, the app was downloaded 23,000 times in 2019. This led to a 27% increase in both empathy and understanding of Crohn’s and Colitis and a significant decrease (almost 50%) in apathy towards the impact that these conditions can have on daily life.

It Takes Guts to talk about Crohn’s and Colitis and thanks to this partnership In My Shoes helped to ignite that conversation.

Judges' comments

In My Shoes stood out for doing everything right – starting from the approach each party took to working as partners. Its use of app technology was executed brilliantly, but it wasn’t technology for the sake of it and the focus remained on the shared objective at all times. Rock solid programme design together with careful delivery resulted in a measurable impact on shifting perceptions about Crohn’s and Colitis, clinching its worth as a winner.