Goal:

Hep B PAST – Partnership Approach to Sustainably eliminating Chronic Hepatitis B in the Northern Territory (NT) - is working towards the elimination of chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the Northern Territory.

Aims: 
  1. Improve health literacy about HBV amongst  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 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 and was completed in December 2023. 

 

 

Funder:
  • National Health and Medical Research Council
Collaborators:
  • Northern Territory Government
  • Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation
  • Katherine West Health Board
  • Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM)
  • NT AIDS and Hepatitis Council (NTAHC)
  1. ​​​​​​Hosking, K., De Santis, T., Vintour-Cesar, E., Wilson, PM., Bunn, L., Garambaka Gurruwiwi, G., Wurrawilya, S., Bukulatjpi Mariyalawuy, S., Nelson, S., Ross, C., Stuart-Carter, K-A., Ngurruwuthun, T., Dhagapan, A. (2024). Putting the power back into community: A mixed methods evaluation of a chronic hepatitis B training course for the Aboriginal health workforce of Australia’s Northern Territory. PLoS ONE 19(1): e0288577 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288577
  2. Hosking, K., De Santis, T., Vintour-Cesar, E., Wilson, P. M., Bunn, L., Gurruwiwi, G. G., Wurrawilya, S., Bukulatjpi, S. M., Nelson, S., Ross, C., Binks, P., Schroder, P., Davis, J. S., Taylor, S., Connors, C., & Davies, J. (2023). “The most culturally safe training I’ve ever had.” The co-design of a culturally safe Managing hepatitis B training course with and for the Aboriginal health workforce of the Northern Territory of Australia. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2830413/v1
  3. Sullivan, R.P., Davies, J., Binks, P, McKinnon, M., Dhurrkay RG., Hosking, K., Bukulatjpi SM., Locarnini, S., Littlejohn, M., Jackson, K., Tong SYV., Davis, JS. Preventing early childhood transmission of hepatitis B in remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. Int J Equity Health 21, 186 (2022).
  4. Hosking, K., Stewart, G., Mobsby, M., Skov, S., Zhao, Y., Su, J-Y. et al. (2020). Data linkage and computerised algorithmic coding to enhance individual clinical care for Aboriginal people living with chronic hepatitis B in the Northern Territory of Australia – Is it feasible? PLoS ONE 15(4): e0232207
  5. Hla TK, Bukulatjpi SM, Binks P, Gurruwiwi GG, Dhurrkay RG, Davies J. A "one stop liver shop" approach improves the cascade-of-care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians living with chronic hepatitis B in the Northern Territory of Australia: results of a novel care delivery model. Int J Equity Health. 2020;19(1):64. Published 2020 May 7. doi:10.1186/s12939-020-01180-w
  6. 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
  7. 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. 
  8. Davies, J., Bukulatjpi, S., Sharma, S., Caldwell L., Johnston, V., & Davis, J.S. (2015). Towards shared understandings – the development of a culturally appropriate bilingual electronic application about Hepatitis B for Indigenous Australians. Journal of Medical Internet Research - Research Protocols, in press, accepted 17/04/2015.
  9. Davies, J., Bukulatjpi, S., Sharma, S., Davis, J. & Johnston, V. (2014). “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 14:1233.
  1. HEP VOICE Magazine - October - December 2023

    HEP VOICE Magazine - October - December 2023

    Date

    Kelly Hosking of Menzies School of Health Research shares an insight about the Hep B PAST Program with the World Hepatitis Alliance online magazine.

  2. MEDIA RELEASE | Hep B program highlights expertise as CDU Menzies School of Medicine seeks more student placements in the NT

    MEDIA RELEASE | Hep B program highlights expertise as CDU Menzies School of Medicine seeks more student placements in the NT

    Date

    The CDU Menzies School of Medicine continues its momentum to advocate for the Australian Government to allocate 40 new placements for medical students in the Northern Territory.

  3. App to provide health support for Kriol speakers

    App to provide health support for Kriol speakers

    Date

    The Hep B PAST App is now available in Kriol, read more in this news story.

  4. MEDIA RELEASE | Crucial tool to assist in the elimination of Chronic Hepatitis B launched

    MEDIA RELEASE | Crucial tool to assist in the elimination of Chronic Hepatitis B launched

    Date

    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.

  5. Five medical research projects recognised in the Northern Territory

    Five medical research projects recognised in the Northern Territory

    Date

    Five researchers based at Menzies have received recognition in the form of Investigator Grants from the NHMRC and the MRFF.

  6. Innovative data use an important step in eliminating hep B

    Innovative data use an important step in eliminating hep B

    Date

    A team of researchers in the Northern Territory (NT) have designed and tested a new algorithm to determine hepatitis B status.

  7. Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia

    Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia

    Date

    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.

  8. Chronic hepatitis B elimination partnership launched

    Chronic hepatitis B elimination partnership launched

    Date

    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.

  9. Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

    Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

    Date

    Menzies is doing its part to ensure more Indigenous Territorians have access to potentially life-saving information about hepatitis B this World Hepatitis Day.

  10. Katherine Times | Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

    Katherine Times | Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

    Date

    Katherine Times | Making hepatitis B information more widely available to Indigenous communities

  11. Chronic hepatitis B to be eliminated from the Northern Territory

    Chronic hepatitis B to be eliminated from the Northern Territory

    Date

    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: