Viral Hepatitis & STI Screening
GP and Nurse Education Event O
n 11 November 2021, Hepatitis SA hosted a GP and Nurse Event to provide education on screening for viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections (STIs). The event was held at The Cathedral Hotel in North Adelaide, and was kindly sponsored by biopharmaceutical company AbbVie. The idea for the event came from discussions with a viral hepatitis nurse who suggested that if we could increase screening for viral hepatitis, then the nurses would be able to take care of the rest. Further discussions resulted in including STIs as a bit more of a drawcard for clinicians. Presenters on the night included Dr Carole Khaw (Senior Consultant at the Adelaide Sexual Health Centre), Jeff Stewart (Viral Hepatitis Nurse Consultant for Central Adelaide Local Health Network based at Port Adelaide), Dean Harris (Positive Speaker at Hepatitis SA) and Jenny Grant (Education Coordinator at Hepatitis SA). Dr Carole Khaw presented information on symptoms, screening and treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhea, mycoplasma genitalium, syphilis and HIV. Jeff Stewart presented information on
Dr Carole Khaw presenting on the evening symptoms, screening and treatment for hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Jenny interviewed Dean on his personal experience of having lived with hepatitis C, and the consequences of his late diagnosis of the virus. Despite the inclement weather on the evening, the event was well attended, with 19 GPs and nurses joining the session. Evaluations conducted at the end of the evening showed all participants had improved their understanding of STI screening and a majority of participants had improved their understanding of viral hepatitis screening. Those who did not have an improved understanding worked in health centers within prisons and indicated that this was already part and parcel of their work. Some of the participants’ comments on the session were: • “Very informative, great venue, friendly attendees, superb speakers.” • “Thank you for your efforts.”
• “Thank you for an informative evening: +++great!” • “Very, very informative.” • “Very grateful to Dean for his very heartfelt and honest sharing of his experiences. Very valuable insights. Thank you, Dean.” A huge thank-you to the Cathedral Hotel, who did an amazing job of getting food and drinks to the table with minimal disruption. The food was delicious, and the staff were very friendly. Also, thanks to Kristy from AbbVie for being so supportive of the idea of holding this event. We hope to hold more in the future to increase the screening of at-risk populations for viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections. For more information on the event, or if you would like to organise something for your clinic or workplace, please contact Jenny 83628443 or jenny@hepsa.asn.au. v Jenny Grant Education Coordinator
January 2022 • HEPATITIS SA COMMUNITY NEWS 92
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