Roche Diagnostics is on a mission to break the silence surrounding hepatitis and challenge the stigma that has long been associated with the disease. With the “Everyone Deserves to Get Tested” campaign spanning 13 markets across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Roche aims to drive public health conversations and inspire action in communities where awareness often does not lead to testing. Amy Ho, Head of Disease Areas at Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, provides a deep dive into the campaign’s ambitious goals, the challenges of combating deep-rooted societal taboos, and how Roche plans to measure the campaign’s success in terms of real behavioral shifts rather than just media metrics.
How does Roche plan to measure the impact and effectiveness of the “Everyone Deserves to Get Tested” campaign across the 13 markets?
When it comes to a campaign like this, traditional media metrics like reach and impressions are not enough to measure its impact or success. Our goal with the “Everyone Deserves to Get Tested” campaign is to create a meaningful, long-standing impact on public health by influencing attitudes and behaviours toward hepatitis and the importance of testing. Achieving this goal requires more than short-term metrics; it demands a sustained and comprehensive approach to measure and drive real change over time.
One of the key tools we utilised before the campaign was even rolled out, was a survey conducted in collaboration with GWI (GlobalWebIndex). This survey allowed us to gather insights into how current awareness levels, attitudes, and behaviours regarding hepatitis influence testing and treatment.
Some insights were astounding and stressed the importance of a campaign like this – for instance:
1. Knowledge does not equal action
2. Over 1 in 2 presume nothing is wrong, and don’t test
3. Engaging in risky behaviour? Your actions justify why you have a disease(s)
Ultimately, the campaign was shaped with these insights in mind, allowing us to tackle entrenched beliefs and shift the narrative of stigma and silence surrounding hepatitis and testing, bringing us a step closer to ensure everyone has access to good healthcare. Our goal is to ensure that the campaign leads to increased testing, early diagnosis, and better health outcomes. To gauge its true impact as it progresses, we will focus on holistic metrics that reflect how the campaign influences perceptions and behaviours across the 13 target markets.
We are dedicated to assessing success not merely through quantitative measures, but by the tangible, positive changes we can inspire within the communities we serve.
What challenges did Roche face when addressing the deep-seated stigma surrounding hepatitis, and how were they overcome during the campaign’s development?
According to the latest whitepaper by the APAC Liver Disease Alliance, almost all countries in APAC cannot meet WHO’s 2030 Hepatitis elimination targets. A recent survey commissioned by Roche Diagnostics and conducted by audience research firm, GWI, with general audiences in 13 markets uncovered:
● Lack of awareness: Over 50% of the population have a basic awareness of hepatitis, but over 30% have not tested, are not planning on booking a test and/or are unsure about testing.
● Presuming nothing is wrong: Over 1 in 2 presume nothing is wrong and do not undergo testing
● Deep-seated cultural stigma: 58% of respondents believe people with a history of IV drug use, high-risk sexual behaviours and needle usage from tattoos – deserve hepatitis
Societal attitudes and taboos not only discourage individuals from seeking testing but also perpetuate a harmful culture of silence and blame surrounding the disease. Many people are reluctant to get screened for fear of being labelled as someone “who deserves it”.
The need for action is more urgent than ever and diagnosing viral hepatitis is a critical first step in limiting the harmful impact of the disease. Increased testing can significantly bring the world closer to achieving the World Health Organisation’s Hepatitis Elimination goal by 2030.
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That’s why we believe Everyone Deserves to Get Tested. Our “Everyone Deserves to Get Tested” campaign aims to change the narrative. The reality is anybody can get hepatitis, but nobody deserves it. The campaign pushes beyond awareness with its call to action framed within the campaign title itself. We found that it was essential to ensure this push, as the recent survey also found that knowledge and awareness still do not equal action.
With diseases such as Hepatitis, the barriers are manifold. This campaign goes far beyond awareness, breaking deep-seated stigmas, shifting perceptions and instigating action to get tested. We have launched this campaign regionally and are also following up with targeted versions of the campaign for local rollout, with a specific focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that have a higher incidence rate and disease burden of Hepatitis.
With these in-market rollouts, we will ensure the campaign reaches maximum effectiveness in reach, awareness, and messaging that drives long-term action, rooted in each local landscape. This campaign is backed by collaborative efforts from various stakeholders, including policy stakeholders, patient advocacy groups, clinicians, and labs to shape practices.
As Roche Diagnostics continues to roll out the “Everyone Deserves to Get Tested” campaign, the focus remains on changing perceptions and driving tangible health outcomes across APAC. By collaborating with various stakeholders and tailoring the campaign for each local market, Roche is committed to ensuring that this vital conversation on hepatitis leads to action—because in the end, no one deserves hepatitis, but everyone deserves to get tested.
