Hi, this is Mina from Hepatitis NSW in Australia
We are looking for people with lived experience of hep B to join Hepatitis NSW speaker program. Particularly people from Africa, China, Pacific Islands and Philippine. They should speak English quite well. The work is rewarding, paid, and typically involves a couple of hours occasionally, and on rare occasions, travel may be involved.
Becoming a hep B speaker is a rewarding way to raise community awareness around the importance of screening (blood testing), immunisation, and ongoing monitoring for hepatitis B.
Hepatitis NSW - Hep B speaker program
The program gives people who are affected by hep B the opportunity to talk about the psychosocial or medical related aspects of their experience of living with hep B to healthcare workforce and the broader community.
This approach brings many benefits to audiences including ‘humanising’ or ‘giving a face’ to the experience of living with hep B. Becoming a speaker can be empowering and benefit the broader hep B affected community through reducing hep B related stigma and discrimination, encouraging testing, and appropriate management.
The Audience
· Health care workers e.g. doctors, nurses, community health staff mental health workers, AOD workers, dental workers, Justice Health staff, and multicultural health workers
· Community workers e.g. youth workers, NSP workers, housing services, family support workers
· Education workers e.g. teachers and school counsellors
· Corrective Services staff
· Other relevant agencies e.g. pharmacies
· Those at risk of acquiring hep B and the hep B affected community
· People currently living with hep B
· People indirectly affected by hep B, such as friends, partners and carers
· People currently taking hep B treatment medication
If found suitable, speakers will be:
· Paid as sessional (casual) workers.
· Given speaker training.
· Provided with other support, supervision and reimbursement as required.
If becoming a hep B speaker sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact: Mina on mkim@hep.org.au expressing your interest to become a speaker.
