Excellence in Public Health Communications

Summary of work

The Hepatitis C Trust led a major initiative to raise awareness of the thousands of people in England and Wales who have hepatitis C, but do not know. The Hepatitis C: Talk, Test, Treat Roadshow marked World Hepatitis Day on 28th July 2013, a health awareness day ratified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and aimed to help local NHS services identify patients, and stem the rising tide of this silent and costly epidemic. 

The Roadshow ran from 15th to 25th July 2013, visiting Cambridge, Bournemouth, Swindon, Weston-super-Mare, Cardiff, Blackpool, Lincolnshire and Sheffield. At each event representatives from The Hepatitis C Trust, British Liver Trust, Crime Reduction Initiatives, Addaction and local patient support groups were on hand to answer questions and provide information. Members of the public were able to undertake a ‘hepatitis C risk screener’ to help determine whether they were at risk. People at risk then received immediate confidential testing on site, to see if they needed to take any further action.

Judges comments

This was a purposeful, practical programme based on excellent knowledge of user behaviour. The tactical tools were designed to move people from awareness of testing to its adoption, quickly and effectively.