162526 Mobilizing Government Funding to Address Chronic Hepatitis B in Immigrant Communities: A Case Study

Monday, November 5, 2007: 9:15 AM

Ruchel Ramos, MPA , Asian American Hepatitis B Project, Center for the Study of Asian American Health, New York City, NY
Henry Pollack, MD , Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY
Alex Sherman, MD , Concorde Medical Group, New York, NY
Thomas Tsang, MD, MPH , Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, New York, NY
Hillel Tobias , Concorde Medical Group, New York City, NY
Douglas Nam Le , Institute of Community Health & Research, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY
Mariano Rey, MD , Center for the Study of Asian American Health, NYU Institute of Community Health and Research, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY
Chronic hepatitis B (HBV), which can lead to liver-related diseases and liver cancer, disproportionately affects many immigrant communities in the United States. This presentation will describe the advocacy and mobilization efforts of a coalition of healthcare providers, professional and volunteer associations, media, and community-based organizations that worked with the City Council of New York to gain City-funding for a large-scale, three-year effort to address the HBV epidemic. Advocacy efforts were initiated by the Asian American community, which has an eight- to ten-fold risk of developing chronic HBV compared to the general population. Through intensive educational efforts with city council members representing districts with a high proportion of Asians, a multi-million dollar award was secured to provide screening, vaccination, education, and treatment for HBV. To date, we have screened more than 5500 individuals for HBV, vaccinated more than 1000 people, and medically evaluated more than 700 persons identified as having HBV. By securing additional funding from the New York City Council, this model program is currently expanding its reach to recent, non-Asian immigrant populations that are also at higher risk for HBV: Latinos, Africans, Caribbeans, and Eastern European/Russians. The program has also leveraged its local policy successes to implement national policy, including the introduction of the first ever Federal bill to set aside specific funds for HBV testing and treatment in affected communities. This presentation highlights the challenges, lessons learned, and experiences of the coalition to work with elected officials to develop a comprehensive community-based health program for minority communities.

Learning Objectives:
Learning Objectives At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to: 1)understand the challenges in developing a comprehensive community-based program for hepatitis B detection, prevention, and care. 2)learn strategies to develop and implement such a program in concert with elected government officials. 3)comprehend the challenges of expanding to communities beyond the original targeted groups.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered