The Champion #115 – June 2023

This issue:

1. HEP CURED: Game Changer campaign continues its run in 2023
2. Public Consultation Needed for National Hepatitis Strategies
3. Ryde Family Fun Day
4. Congratulations to Professor Carla Treloar!

HEP CURED: Game Changer campaign continues its run in 2023

Developed in partnership with NSW Ministry of Health and NUAA during 2021 with its first delivery in 2022, Hepatitis NSW’s major health campaign HEP CURED is set for a great second year run. Using simple messaging alongside strong imagery, the campaign promotes the availability and effectiveness of game changer direct acting antiviral hep C treatments that cure. At its core, the campaign instils a sense of connection with loved ones, or significant others.

Throughout July and early-August 2023 – including NSW Hepatitis Awareness Week – Hepatitis NSW will raise HEP CURED awareness – collaborating with all NSW Local Health Districts (LHDs) to deliver local events connected to the campaign. This includes deploying our lived experience hepatitis C peer workers, and staff, across the state. Our peers are invaluable at building a bridge between members of the community and clinical staff. Peer workers also help to reduce the fear of stigma, explaining the testing process and  benefits, and ease, of hepatitis C cure.

Accompanying these LHD events will be the HEP CURED mobile mural – a bold visual billboard artwork mounted to the back of a truck. The mobile mural has taken the successful campaign on the road, literally, around Greater Sydney and NSW regional areas. Visiting Tweed, Lismore, Grafton, Wagga, Goulburn, Wollongong and Gosford – the HEP CURED mobile mural will be blazing its message of hepatitis C treatment and cure.

Around 40,000 people in NSW are living with hepatitis C and remain unaware of game-changing treatment options and pathways. The HEP CURED campaign – alongside our peers, a social media campaign, and the mobile mural – will get the message out there for everyone to see and encourages them to seek testing, treatment, and cure.

SOCIAL MEDIA KIT

To assist people and organisations with social media accounts who would like to raise the online volume about #HEPCURED and #hepC treatment, we have produced an easy-to-use social media kit. Containing pics and text, for posting to Facebook or Twitter, plus images for email footers, the Kit uses current HEP CURED messaging and imagery.

To access the Social Media Kit >>>CLICK HERE

Public Consultation Needed for National Hepatitis Strategies

The Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care is inviting public feedback on the draft Fourth National Hepatitis B Strategy 2023-2030 and Sixth National Hepatitis C Strategy 2023-2030. The public consultation opened on 31 May 2023 and will close on 28 June 2023.

These strategies will guide activities, programs and research to eliminate hepatitis B and hepatitis C as a public health threat in Australia by 2030. While the previous strategies have made headway, with a focus on disease and transmission, we now need a more person-centred approach. There are still many barriers to testing and treatment, such as stigma, racism, discrimination, legal issues, and other social and structural issues that affect many Australians.

We’re pleased the new draft strategies recognise the role of community sector organisations, including Hepatitis NSW and peer state and territory hepatitis organisations in achieving elimination. This is the first time we have been specifically named as a key partner in delivering on the goal of the strategies. The new draft strategies mark a significant change from previous ones, with a focus on issues such as quality of life, understanding culturally, socially and geographically diverse populations, as well as enabling community leadership in all aspects of the national and local responses.

You can provide your input and feedback on the strategies by completing Health and Aged Care’s online survey. To participate >>> CLICK HERE

Ryde Family Fun Day

In May, the Community Migrant Resource Centre (CMRC) held their Multicultural Family Fun Day at Ryde Public School. The event brought together families from diverse backgrounds, and provided a great opportunity for Hepatitis NSW to raise awareness about hepatitis B.

Our stall had a vibrant banner, informative pamphlets, giveaways and a range of fun-filled activities. We got to share vital information about the transmission, prevention, and management of hepatitis B. Visitors to our stall could read a fact sheet in their own language—English, Chinese or Korean—and then answer a quiz about hepatitis B to win a free goody bag.

The event proved to be a great learning experience for many attendees who discovered they’d had misconceptions about hepatitis B for years. They were delighted to be able to get up-to-date information to improve their knowledge and understanding.

A significant portion of the Family Fun Day attendees were from Mandarin-speaking backgrounds, a community with a high prevalence of hepatitis B in Australia.

Being able to engage effectively with this community to help add to their health literacy regarding hepatitis B is a central to our efforts to support current hepatitis B patients, encourage individuals to be aware of their hepatitis status, link people to care, and enhance the uptake of hepatitis B management.

We are thrilled to have been able to be a part of the CMRC Multicultural Family Fun Day, and congratulate the organisers on a great event. Participating in these types events is integral to our ongoing efforts to create a healthier and more informed community. Together, we can overcome the challenges posed by hepatitis B and ensure the well-being of everyone affected, directly or indirectly.

Congratulations to Professor Carla Treloar

Hepatitis NSW extends our congratulations to Professor Carla Treloar following the announcement of her appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the King’s Birthday Honours this month. Professor Treloar was recognised for her “significant service to social research, and to tertiary education.”

Carla is one of the pre-eminent social researchers in the BBV/STI space, and an expert in stigma and discrimination experienced by people with lived experience of hepatitis B and hepatitis C. By employing a range of methods across the fields of social psychology and public health, Carla’s work emphasised the ‘social’ aspects of living with viral hepatitis. Attention to patient-centred models of health care remains critically important to ensure that treatment is relevant to affected communities.

At Hepatitis NSW, Carla is also a much cherished and highly valued friend, partner, collaborator and supporter. We have also been fortunate and thrilled to have her deliver our Audrey Lamb Oration several times over the years, most recently last year.

In 2015, Carla was the recipient of the Hepatitis NSW Cheryl Burman Award, which recognises outstanding individuals demonstrating outstanding commitment towards improving the life of people living with viral hepatitis. She was also elevated to Honorary Life Member of Hepatitis NSW in 2019.

Congratulations Carla!