Help Raise Awareness on Hepatitis Testing Day
By Ronald Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, and Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy
Next Tuesday, May 19, is the fourth annual national Hepatitis Testing Day. The observance was established in 2011 with the initial release of the national Action Plan for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis (Action Plan). Its goal is to help raise awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and to encourage more individuals to learn their status.
Hepatitis Testing Day is an important opportunity for federal health officials and stakeholders across all levels of society to educate their constituents and communities about viral hepatitis and encourage those at risk to be tested. Online Hepatitis Risk Assessment One of the tools that can be particularly useful in this outreach is CDC’s online Hepatitis Risk Assessment tool.
Users confidentially answer a brief series of questions that result in recommendations about whether they should be tested for hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C. Persons who take the assessment can print the tailored recommendations—which are based on the most up-to-date guidelines—and use that printout to discuss viral hepatitis testing and vaccination (for hepatitis B) with their medical provider.
If you haven’t tried this tool yourself, I encourage you to do so. If you have already used it, please consider sharing it with others who might benefit from its use. Other Tools to Help Raise Hepatitis Awareness CDC has developed a number of other tools that can be useful in raising awareness of the importance of hepatitis testing, particularly among populations with a disproportionate burden of disease.
For example, the Know Hepatitis B campaign informs us that 1 in 12 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has hepatitis B and delivers strong educational messages about the importance of screening. To help disseminate the messages widely among these communities, a variety of ready-to-share materials are available in English and a number of Asian languages.
Other groups are at increased risk for viral hepatitis and various efforts are underway to increase awareness and promote screening among these populations. For example, because African Americans are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C, my office—in collaboration with the HHS Office of Minority Health—recently hosted a forum focused on strengthening the response to hepatitis C in African American communities, convening representatives of more than three dozen organizations from across the nation to discuss ideas, opportunities, and strategies to address this significant health disparity.
As a follow-up, we also recently co-hosted a webinar with the HHS Office on Women’s Health about hepatitis C among African American women. Many of the participants in both of those activities have committed to work with their constituents to raise awareness among African Americans on Hepatitis Testing Day.
By Ronald Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, and Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy
Next Tuesday, May 19, is the fourth annual national Hepatitis Testing Day. The observance was established in 2011 with the initial release of the national Action Plan for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis (Action Plan). Its goal is to help raise awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and to encourage more individuals to learn their status.Hepatitis Testing Day is an important opportunity for federal health officials and stakeholders across all levels of society to educate their constituents and communities about viral hepatitis and encourage those at risk to be tested. Online Hepatitis Risk Assessment One of the tools that can be particularly useful in this outreach is CDC’s online Hepatitis Risk Assessment tool.
Users confidentially answer a brief series of questions that result in recommendations about whether they should be tested for hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C. Persons who take the assessment can print the tailored recommendations—which are based on the most up-to-date guidelines—and use that printout to discuss viral hepatitis testing and vaccination (for hepatitis B) with their medical provider.
If you haven’t tried this tool yourself, I encourage you to do so. If you have already used it, please consider sharing it with others who might benefit from its use. Other Tools to Help Raise Hepatitis Awareness CDC has developed a number of other tools that can be useful in raising awareness of the importance of hepatitis testing, particularly among populations with a disproportionate burden of disease.
For example, the Know Hepatitis B campaign informs us that 1 in 12 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has hepatitis B and delivers strong educational messages about the importance of screening. To help disseminate the messages widely among these communities, a variety of ready-to-share materials are available in English and a number of Asian languages.
Other groups are at increased risk for viral hepatitis and various efforts are underway to increase awareness and promote screening among these populations. For example, because African Americans are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C, my office—in collaboration with the HHS Office of Minority Health—recently hosted a forum focused on strengthening the response to hepatitis C in African American communities, convening representatives of more than three dozen organizations from across the nation to discuss ideas, opportunities, and strategies to address this significant health disparity.
As a follow-up, we also recently co-hosted a webinar with the HHS Office on Women’s Health about hepatitis C among African American women. Many of the participants in both of those activities have committed to work with their constituents to raise awareness among African Americans on Hepatitis Testing Day.
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Arkansas Fair Housing Commission
Upcoming Training
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Participants will be
introduced to the Do's and Don'ts of fair housing marketing and management; fair
housing sensitivity; an overview of federal and state fair housing laws;
reasonable accommodations and modifications; and
compliance.
When
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Registration from 8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.)
Where
Wyndham
Riverfront Hotel
2 Riverfront Place
Silver City Room 6 & 7
North Little Rock, AR 72201
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A 10%
discount is available for five (5) or more registrants of the same
organization. Limited scholarships are available for non-industry
participants. Scholars are required to attend the full session and must certify
non-industry status.
Please
note that in order to receive a certificate of completion, you must attend all
sessions included in the program. Failure to attend all sessions will result in
an incomplete status, and a certificate will not be issued.
A
completed registration form and payment must be received prior to class to
participate.
We look forward to seeing you at our
upcoming training.
Click here for the Management and Best
Practices registration form.
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Please contact Kwadjo Boaitey or Kia Webb
at 501-682-3247 or email
Kwadjo.Boaitey@arkansas.gov or Kia.Webb@arkansas.gov for additional
information. Visit our website at www.fairhousing.arkansas.gov.
Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/corneliusonpoint
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