Hi everyone,
I’m quite proud to announce the first bit of published research using this forum as a platform. This study is called Demographic factors, knowledge, and experiences associated with engagement in care in Australians diagnosed with hepatitis B (Available as open access at Demographic factors, knowledge, and experiences associated with engagement in care in Australians diagnosed with hepatitis B | Discover Public Health).
Many of you would have seen a survey we advertised on the forum where we were asking people how they were diagnosed, whether they are linked in care, etc. What we found were that people who are regularly engaged in care (getting blood tests every 6 months) were less likely to live in rural areas, have a shorter trip to their GP, were diagnosed in a hospital or by their GP, and had more accurate knowledge about Hep B.
Thank you again for everyone who participated and made this work possible. It really helps understand better what we need to do in our public health response to get care to more people. Thanks also to the co-authors, who include @l.brener, @HaroutAjoyan, @Sumaya, @Mylisa and @Robyn.
The exciting part of this research is that through this forum, we can interact with people who are not getting regular tests (rather than studies carried out in clinical settings, where everyone is already linked to care). It is important to understand from this population what the barriers are, so that we can design better and more accessible ways for people to get care and treatment when they need it.
Cheers,
Thomas