Goal:
The Hep B PAST – Partnership Approach to Sustainably eliminating Chronic Hepatitis B in the Northern Territory - is working towards the elimination of Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) from Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory.
Aims:
1. Improve Health literacy about HBV amongst Indigenous communities, people living with HBV and primary Healthcare providers
2. Improve the cascade of care for individuals living with CHB in the NT
Objectives:
We will enable people living with CHB and their communities to have access to culturally appropriate effective education tools in their first language. We will evaluate and translate the existing “Hep B Story” educational app into a further 10 languages which will cover >70% of the NT Indigenous population.
CHB care will be transitioned into the primary care setting in the remote NT context using the chronic disease model. Central coordination through an NT HBV clinical register and an allocated core clinical care team will improve the cascade of care for CHB.
Summary:
We have the necessary tools in place to achieve elimination of CHB: an effective vaccine, effective antivirals, and long-term relationships between project partners and Indigenous communities. Our aim is that with significant investment over the next 5 years we can substantially improve community health literacy, determine sero-status of >80% of Indigenous individuals, and by shifting CHB to a chronic disease care model have >80% of individuals with CHB engaged in guideline based management with 15% receiving and remaining on treatment.
Chief Investigator:
Project manager:
Contact information:
Project dates:
The project commenced in 2018.
Funder:
- National Health and Medical Research Council
Collaborators:
- Northern Territory Government
- Miwatj Aboriginal Corporation
- Katherine West Health Board
- Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine
- NT AIDS and Hepatitis Council
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Davies J, Boutlis CS, Marshall CS, Tong SYC, Davis JS. The unique aspects of chronic hepatitis B infection in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Internal Medicine Journal 48 (2018) 484-485
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Cheah BC, Davies J, Singh GR, Wood N, Jackson K, Littlejohn M, Davison B, McIntyre P, Locarnini S, Davis JS, Tong SYC. Sub-optimal protection against past hepatitis B virus infection where subtype mismatch exists between vaccine and circulating viral genotype in northern Australia. Vaccine 36 (2018) 3533-3540
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Davies J, Qin Li S, Tong SYC, Baird RW, Beaman M, Higgins G, Cowie BC, Condon JR, Davis JS. Establishing contemporary trends in hepatitis B sero-epidemiology in an Indigenous population. PLoS ONE 12(9) 2017.
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Davies J, Bukulatjpi S, Sharma S, Caldwell L, Johnston V, Davis J. Development of a Culturally Appropriate Bilingual Electronic App About Hepatitis B for Indigenous Australians: Towards Shared Understandings. 2015;4:e70.
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Littlejohn M, Davies J, Yuen L, Tong S, Davis JS, Locarnini S. Molecular virology of Hepatitis B virus, subgenotype C4 in Northern Australian Indigenous populations. Journal of Medical Virology 2014; 86: 695-706
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Davies J, Bukulatjpi S, Sharma S, Davis J, Johnston V. “Only your blood can tell the story” – a qualitative research study using semi-structured interviews to explore the hepatitis B related knowledge, perceptions and experiences of remote dwelling Indigenous Australians and their health care providers in northern Australia. BMC Public Health 2014, 14:1233
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Parker C, Tong SYC, Dempsey K, Condon J, Sharma S, Chen JWC, Sievert W, Davis JS. Hepatocellular carcinoma in Australia’s Northern Territory – high incidence and poor outcomes. Medical Journal of Australia 2014; 201(8): 470-47.
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Davies J, Littlejohn M, Locarnini SA, Whiting S, Hajkowicz K, Cowie BC, Bowden DS, Tong SYC, Davis JS. The molecular epidemiology of hepatitis B in the Indigenous people of northern Australia. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2013; 28(7): 1234-1241.
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MEDIA RELEASE | Crucial tool to assist in the elimination of Chronic Hepatitis B launched
An educational app designed to improve health literacy around the hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been translated to provide more than 70 per cent of the Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal population access in their first language.
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Hep B PAST Bulletin | Issue 2 July 2021
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Hep B Past Bulletin | Volume 1, Issue 1
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NT News | Funds for critical health issue studies
Report on Menzies NHMRC and MRFF Investigator grants.
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Five medical research projects recognised in the Northern Territory
Five researchers based at Menzies have received recognition in the form of Investigator Grants from the NHMRC and the MRFF.
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Innovative data use an important step in eliminating hep B
A team of researchers in the Northern Territory (NT) have designed and tested a new algorithm to determine hepatitis B status.
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CAAMA Podcast | Strong Voices Monday 25/09/2019
Australian researchers have used current Hepatitis B virus genome sequences to map the movement of Aboriginal people into Australia. A senior research fellow at the Menzies school of health research discusses the research paper.
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Hepatitis B DNA Helps Trace History and Movement of First Australians
The team found that hepatitis B virus isolated from these Aboriginal Australians is a unique strain called HBV/C4, which is not found anywhere else in the world.
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Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements
LongRoom News | Australian researchers have used current hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences to deduce ancient human population movements into Australia.
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Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements
LongRoom News | Australian researchers have used current hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences to deduce ancient human population movements into Australia.
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Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia
Australian researchers have used current hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences to deduce ancient human population movements into Australia, adding weight to the theory that the mainland Aboriginal population separated from other early humans at least 59 thousand years ago and possibly entered the country near the Tiwi Islands.
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NT News | Hope to eradicate chronic Hep B
NT News | Hope to eradicate chronic Hep B
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Chronic hepatitis B elimination partnership launched
A collaboration working to eliminate chronic hepatitis B (CHB) from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the Northern Territory (NT) is being launched by NT Health Minister the Hon Natasha Fyles.
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Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities
Menzies is doing its part to ensure more Indigenous Territorians have access to potentially life-saving information about hepatitis B this World Hepatitis Day.
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Katherine Times | Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities
Katherine Times | Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities
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Chronic hepatitis B to be eliminated from the Northern Territory
An important collaboration which will work to eliminate chronic hepatitis B (CHB) from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the Northern Territory (NT) has been established.
The Hep B Story app is a visual, interactive app designed for patients living with chronic hepatitis B (hep B) and their families. It tells the story of the hep B virus, how you get it, what happens over time, how you know you have it as well as details about immunisation and treatment. It also features a separate women’s business section discussing mother to child transmission and ways to prevent it.
On 25 November 2021, we launched the updated version of the Hep B Story app. Created and translated by community members and health workers across the NT, it is now available in English, Yolŋu matha, Kunwinjku, Tiwi, Arrernte, Warlpiri, Pitjantjatjara, Burarra and Anindilyakwa. In 2022, the app will also be released in Murrinh-patha and Gurindji.
Watch the online launch here: