Hepatitis C in Australia: impact of a mass media campaign.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C affects over 200,000 Australians. This study evaluated the impact of a public education campaign about this disease in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. DESIGN: Cohort and independent cross-sectional telephone surveys before and after the campaign. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Random population samples of adults in NSW. INTERVENTION: Television, radio and newsprint advertisements, posters and public display boards, public awareness events and media releases, and dissemination of information to healthcare professionals in April 2000. Data were analyzed in 2000 and 2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Campaign recall, and knowledge and attitudes concerning hepatitis C. RESULTS: Recall of information about hepatitis C increased between baseline and follow-up, from 11.1% to 45.5% in the independent samples and 11.8% to 65.3% in the cohort. The proportion of people who knew that there was a low risk of disease transmission by kissing, sharing food utensils, or breastfeeding also increased significantly. In the cohort sample, a higher number of correct knowledge responses was associated with reporting exposure to information about hepatitis C after the campaign, postsecondary education, and a greater level of knowledge at baseline. Most people reported supportive attitudes toward people with hepatitis C and to prevention programs addressing this disease, and there was little apparent improvement in these. CONCLUSIONS: This campaign successfully increased public exposure to information about hepatitis C and improved knowledge about the means of transmission of this disease. There is room for further improvements in community understanding about hepatitis C. Mass media campaigns have a valuable role to play in this endeavor.

Impact of a mass media campaign upon calls to the New South Wales Hep C helpline.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: This study evaluated the impact of a mass media campaign upon calls to the New South Wales Hep C Helpline. METHODS: A time-series design was used to record the number and characteristics of calls to the helpline before, during and after the campaign. RESULTS: The incidence rate ratio of calls during the month of the campaign was 3.12 (95% CI 2.45-3.97) compared with the months before the campaign, and in this month more callers were < or =30 years or > or =60 years of age or non-English speaking while fewer were professionals or people directly affected by hepatitis C. Callers during the campaign were more likely to have heard about the helpline through the media and to want information about disease transmission, and less likely to want to discuss topics such as support and legal issues. CONCLUSIONS: The calls received by the Hep C Helpline indicate that the campaign was a useful way to generate public interest about hepatitis C. The findings indicate that telephone helplines are an information dissemination strategy that can be coupled effectively with mass media campaigns about this issue.

Modelling hepatitis C virus incidence, prevalence and long-term sequelae in Australia, 2001.

BACKGROUND: To plan an appropriate public health response to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic requires that estimates of HCV incidence and prevalence, and projections of the long-term sequelae of infection, are as accurate as possible. In this paper, mathematical models are used to synthesize data on the epidemiology and natural history of HCV in Australia to estimate HCV incidence and prevalence in Australia to end 2001, and project future trends in the long-term sequelae of HCV infection. METHODS: Mathematical models of the HCV epidemic in Australia were developed based on estimates of the pattern of injecting drug use. Estimates of HCV infections due to injecting drug use were then adjusted to allow for HCV infections resulting from other transmission routes. Projections of the long-term sequelae of HCV infection were obtained by combining modelled HCV incidence with estimates of the progression rates to these outcomes. RESULTS: It was estimated that there were 210 000 (lower and upper limits of 157 000 and 252 000) people in Australia living with HCV antibodies at the end of 2001, with HCV incidence in 2001 estimated to be 16 000 (11 000-19 000). It was estimated that 6500 (5000-8000) people were living with HCV-related cirrhosis in 2001, that 175 (130-210) people developed HCV-associated liver failure, and that there were 50 (40-60) incident cases of HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It was estimated that in 2001 22 500 quality adjusted life years were lost to chronic HCV infection, the majority (77%) in people with early (stage 0/1) liver disease. DISCUSSION: Model-based estimates were broadly consistent with other sources of information on the HCV epidemic in Australia. These models suggest that the prevalence of HCV-related cirrhosis and the incidence of HCV-related liver failure and HCC will more than triple in Australia by 2020.