Communities in Focus The Filipino Hepatitis B Community Education Project
T
he Filipino Hepatitis B Community Education Project is an exciting new collaboration between the Filipino Settlement Coordinating Council of SA (FSCCA) and Hepatitis SA. We aim to increase hepatitis B awareness and information in the Filipino community, increase health literacy and hepatitis B knowledge in relation to HBV transmission risk, testing, monitoring and
treatment, and reduce stigma associated with the virus.
time, along with Gary Spence from the Education Team.
The project will also increase links to health services to encourage hepatitis B testing, and—where appropriate— regular monitoring and treatment. It further aims to reduce barriers to the uptake of hepatitis B testing and clinical management.
The project had a great start in October last year at the Filipino Fiesta held in Adelaide’s Victoria Square, where over 2000 people were in attendance.
Two community project workers, Marilyn Linn and Leticia De La Cerna, have been working on the project part-
The first of many community education sessions was held in Adelaide in December. This has been followed up with community education sessions delivered to Filipino community members in Murray Bridge, Port Lincoln, Filipino youth and aged care, choir groups, and featured our attendance at the Philippines Ambassador’s visit, as well as presenting at the Embracing Health & Diversity Forum held in the City of Playford. We still have a number of future sessions booked with various Filipino community groups over the next couple of months, as well as the development of a resource that can be used within the Filipino community. A facebook page entitled, ‘Filipino Community Hep B Education Project’, has been developed which is used to share information about upcoming education sessions, as well as sharing photos and stories about past sessions. You can visit us there at bit.ly/2oCsVuv.
April 2017 • HEPATITIS SA COMMUNITY NEWS 73
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