Diagnose This Film

Diagnose This Film was created to spotlight the long and often traumatic diagnostic odyssey faced by people with rare diseases, which can take more than seven years and involve multiple misdiagnoses. The film centers on a Black protagonist to highlight racial disparities in rare disease research, where people of color make up 38 percent of patients but only 16 percent of research participants, leading to delayed and inaccurate diagnoses. Apfed identified that traditional awareness efforts were not changing clinical behavior, as healthcare professionals often miss early signs due to time pressure, limited training, diagnostic complexity, and a lack of empathy for patients with nonspecific symptoms.

The solution reimagines medical education as an interactive challenge. Hosted on a retro-style website, Diagnose This Film pairs an animated short with a diagnostic simulation that asks healthcare professionals to identify 19 hidden symptoms and arrive at the correct diagnosis, restarting if they make a single error. This structure mirrors the frustration patients experience and turns passive viewing into an immersive, emotional learning experience. Since launch, the project drove 3,000 doctor visits in one month, a five-minute average time on site, a 43 percent increase in intent to screen for rare diseases, and positioned Apfed as a leader in behavior-changing clinical education.