Day 91: Get Tested Get Treated Get Cured!

Catching blood-borne viruses like Hepatitis C is a risk of problem drug use, especially when sharing needles.  Hepatitis C predominantly infects liver cells. This can cause inflammation and significant damage to the liver and prevent it working properly.

Although always regarded as a liver disease, recent research has shown that virus affects a few other areas of the body, including the digestive system, the lymphatic system, the immune system and the brain.

We focus heavily in our substance use services on prevention and treating people who have or at risk of Hep C, to improve their overall health and outcomes.

Day 61: If they don’t know, how do we tell them?

This article by The Health Foundation makes for a fascinating read about the differences between public perception and belief about health inequalities versus reality. 

What I found particularly interesting, but unsurprising, is how much the public’s view of what affects their health and the power they have personally to change it differs so much from what the evidence says influences this.

To be effective in informing the public, we need to make our narrative personal and relatable to them.  We need to accommodate the range of educational, cultural, and generational differences that exist.  Much more work needs to be done.