Researchers confident chronic hepatitis B could be eliminated in NT in five years
Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) has become a serious health problem for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians living in remote communities including those in the Northern Territory, with around 25% estimated to die from liver disease and liver cancer.
A team of medical researchers, including Dr Jane Davies from the Menzies School of Medical Research, have spent the last eight years alongside Aboriginal health professionals, working on developing and trialling a pilot model project, that combines mobile technology through an app and on-country care which involves doctors and nurses going out into those communities and giving Indigenous men and women care and support at home in one session and providing information which is translated into their first language.
Researchers are confident that the disease will be eliminated over the next five years, with The National Health and Medical Research Council allocating an additional $1.4m to the project.