Everything you need to know about hepatitis is here
In 2012, CEH realised the powerful role poetry could play in conveying health messages to a community. You can read the full report here: Assessment Report 2012
Background:
The arts have been used as an intervention to improve mental health and as a vehicle to bring practical health messages to communities (VicHealth 2013). A literature review indicates that arts interventions have helped participants to retain educational information longer, improve their interpersonal communications, increase their employability, reduce their vulnerability to committing crime and increase social cohesion (Barraket 2005).
Project:
CEH teamed up with the Bakhtar Cultural Association to educate the Afghan community about hepatitis and liver health. Over one hundred people from the community in South East Melbourne gathered for an evening of poetry and music. While sharing information through poetry is an age-old tradition in the Islamic community, this was an Australian first. Each poem contained important messages about hepatitis, liver health and stigma. Labor Candidate for Narre Warren South, Gary Maas, was in attendance. The event featured in the local news.
Not only did many individuals carefully construct poetic messages about hepatitis and the liver but 40 different poems were then translated into English.
You can read all of the English translations of the poems here:
Hepatitis and Stigma
Hepatitis and Stigmatisation
Hepatitis
Hepatitis Means
Inflammation
Stigma and Confidentiality
Immunity
Further information
Find out what hepatitis B is, how you get it and how to stop its spread with this translated fact sheet here.
You can find out if you have hepatitis B and get it treated. Use this fact sheet to ask your doctor for a hepatitis B test.
It has been translated into Chinese, Somali, Sudanese and Vietnamese.
Poetry readings: