Odissé Dataviz Challenge: Let public health data speak for itself!
Santé publique France is launching the Odissé Dataviz Challenge, the first edition of which invites participants to use open data from the Odissé platform to create original visualizations.
Each year, Santé publique France produces thousands of health indicators based on more than 70 surveillance systems, covering 90 diseases and health determinants, available down to the intermunicipal level. This data, available as open data via Odissé, is an essential resource for informing public policy decisions and fostering the development of innovative health initiatives. To mark its 10th anniversary, Santé publique France is launching the Odissé Dataviz Challenge today, which aims to transform this data into practical, accessible, and useful tools for everyone.
Three challenges, two weeks of production
From September 28 to October 8, 2026, participants will explore Odissé’s data in relation to three major challenges:
Experts from Santé publique France and the data field will be available during dedicated webinars to support the teams.
Who can participate?
The challenge is open to everyone, regardless of age or background: it’s open to students, researchers, designers, data professionals, data journalists, healthcare professionals, or simply anyone passionate about data. Both individual and team applications are welcome.
Schedule and Fees
Four webinars are scheduled before and during the challenge:
- challenge overview (September 17 | Download the webinar presentation),
- official launch of the challenge (September 28, 12:00 PM–12:45 PM | Watch the September 28 webinar),
- presentation of the datasets (September 30, 12:00 PM–12:45 PM | Access the September 30 webinar),
- preparation of pitches (October 8, 12:00 PM–12:45 PM | Access the October 8 webinar).
Submissions are due on October 8, with presentations to the jury scheduled for the week of October 12.
The results will be announced around October 15, following the jury’s deliberations.
The best entries will be presented at the Rencontres de Santé publique France on November 9, 2026.
For this challenge, four prizes will be awarded:
- One prize will be awarded for each of the three challenges. For each: a prize package valued at €300. The projects will be featured and shared on Odissé, the Santé publique France website, and in the Buena Vista Data Club newsletter from the WeDoData agency.
- A “Most Promising” prize, awarded by Huwise and WeDoData, will also include a day of in-person mentoring to refine the winner’s proposal with experts and gain a foothold in the professional world of data.
Registration is now open
Registration is now open—sign up to stay updated on the latest news about the challenge.
- To join the adventure, click here: registration form
Odissé: Open Data on Health Indicators
Santé publique France is helping to combat misinformation by ensuring transparent and well-documented access to authoritative scientific data. Through its Odissé portal, the agency provides the general public and professionals with reliable indicators on 90 diseases and health determinants, covering mainland France and its overseas territories. Odissé promotes a better understanding of epidemics, chronic diseases, and risk factors, while facilitating data reuse via an open API. Its goal is to provide all stakeholders with a solid foundation for analyzing, anticipating, and addressing health challenges.
Results and Participants
Winner of Challenge 1 (Mental Health): Marie-Ange RASENDRA
This project cross-references data from the Santé publique France Barometer, hospitalizations for self-harm, and suicide mortality to better understand the profiles of those most at risk for mental health challenges in France. The analysis highlights two particularly vulnerable populations: adolescent girls and young women, who are heavily represented in hospitalizations and indicators of reported distress; and men aged 45 and older, who account for the majority of suicide deaths. The dashboard also explores social and regional disparities, highlighting the influence of factors such as financial insecurity, social isolation, and regional differences. To make these results accessible, it draws on a wide variety of visualizations and a guided narrative journey, where scrolling gradually reveals explanations and key takeaways to help readers explore the data.
Winner of Challenge 2 (Impacts of Heat): Serigne Falou DIOUF
“Résonances” allows users to explore and compare the health impacts of heat at the departmental level by cross-referencing several indicators (exposure to heat waves, heat-attributable mortality, environmental pressures, and prevention), while preserving their sources and uncertainties.
Winner of Challenge 3 (Social and Territorial Health Inequalities): Gwenaëlle CARON
Public health data enables citizens to participate in public debate and make informed decisions. However, one must first be able to interpret it, and Odissé’s data currently speaks more to experts than to the general public. The “Tour de France of Inequalities” makes this data understandable at a glance, thanks to a library of thematic maps, each dedicated to a specific health issue. The series reimagines the aesthetic of old-fashioned wall maps to provide a snapshot of the current state of affairs across the country. The first two charts demonstrate that this approach can be quickly applied to numerous datasets, paving the way for new charts.
“Most Promising” Challenge Winner: Rukshini RASAKUMARAN
This Power BI report highlights social health inequalities in France. It identifies the most disadvantaged regions, the health issues most prevalent there, and the populations most affected. It draws on data from Santé publique France (Odissé), DREES, and INSEE, and includes a detailed fact sheet for each department.
Other participants
| Manuel REISMANN | When Suffering Becomes Visible | What do we learn about mental health depending on whether we look at surveys, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, or deaths? And what does a national statistic hide when we consider different age groups, genders, or geographic regions? |
| Equipe Sentimentale (Quentin EISCHEN LANGE, Laëtitia LAMBERT, Calixte HENRY, Maëlle MRAD) | Map of Mental Health Care: Lack of Care Availability or Lack of Utilization? | Do regional disparities in suicidal behavior reflect a shortage of mental health care services or a lack of utilization of existing services? |
| Anthony SAVINELLI | Who suffers, who receives treatment, who dies? Not the same people | Reported psychological distress, non-use of care, hospitalization for self-harm, and death by suicide: do these four manifestations—in ascending order of severity—affect the same people? And if not, how can public policy target each of them individually rather than treating them as a single, homogeneous group? |
| Marie JAMET | All Happiness? Postpartum Mental Health in Mothers: Data That Ends Too Soon | What proportion of pregnant women and postpartum women are experiencing psychological distress? |
| Sadou BARRY | The message got through. But what about the warning signs? | Heat wave prevention messages are widely disseminated. But are recall of these messages, recognition of heat-related symptoms, and reported behaviors comparable across different audiences? |
| Lucas LEMMEL and Anna EL SAIR | Effectiveness of Heat Wave Prevention Messages | How effective were prevention messages in informing the public about the importance of adjusting behavior during a heat wave? |
| Laura VIGNAU, Cleo BRAGUY, Flavie CARRE, Camille GERNAIS, Sonia THOMAS, Justine SALEIX, Lucie CHAUVEAU | Physical Activity: Do Working-Class People Really Exercise Less? | |
| Justine ROUSSE | Improving the living conditions of pregnant women in Mayotte: a necessity for improving the health of newborns | Why are there more low-birth-weight newborns in Mayotte, and what solutions can we propose to improve the situation? |
| Chloé MARTIN | Regional Profiles: Social and Regional Health Inequalities | How do social and regional health inequalities interact with access to primary care physicians to shape different regional profiles in metropolitan France? |
| Maël STEUNOU | Social and Regional Health Inequalities in France | Where are the health disparities? How do they change over time? Which regions face the greatest challenges today? |
| Christopher SOCCIO | Prevention Fails First and Foremost Those Who Need It Most | Are social health disparities widening, and does prevention reach those who need it most first? |
| Evann HISLERS and Mathys GAUTIER | What does our address tell us about our health? | What can our address tell us about health inequalities, and what can’t it explain? |
