100 SF Hep B Heroes gather for a freeze mob at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration in San Francisco, on May 21, 2011. The mission of their freeze mob was to raise awareness of Hepatitis B, spreading the word of screening and prevention.
For more information about the Asian Heritage Street Celebration, click here
Showing posts with label Media Files: Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media Files: Videos. Show all posts
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
San Francisco's "Hep B Free" Campaign a Model For The Rest of the Country
Reappropriate.com article
I’ve heard a lot lately about San Francisco’s Hep B Free campaign, a public campaign to increase hepatitis B awareness and vaccination in the Bay Area. According to Hep B Free’s website, Hepatitis B — which results from infection by the HBV virus – causes liver cancer in 80% of diagnosed patients. Further, the bloodborne HBV virus can survive for more than 7 days outside of the body and is 100 times more infectious than HIV. Sadly, HBV infections are frequently missed by primary care physicians even though diagnosis only requires a simple blood test.
Currently, 1.25 million Americans are infected with HBV, of which roughly half are Asian American. In fact, HBV is one of the leading causes of death for the Asian American community; 1 in 10 Asian Americans are currently infected with Hepatitis B.
In a talk to the 2nd annual Asian American Health Conference, Dr. Francisco Sy of the NIH noted some of the cultural and linguistic barriers that appear to influence the high HBV infection rates amongst Asian Americans:
--
Decrying that too many health academics do too much “helicopter” research in minority communities — i.e., go in and out to study the population in the short term without really getting to know them — Dr. Sy argued that “community is so important and we need to be treated as partners [in health studies] and not guinea pigs.”
Dr. Sy also contended that the stereotype which characterizes Asian Americans as the “model minority” has contributed to the dearth on health data for the group, a detriment for the community because data is what gets institutions like the NIH to give money to do further studies or finance programs.
“If there is no data,” said Dr. Sy, “there is no funding and communities suffer because Asian Americans are considered Ômodel minorities’ then people think they don’t have any [health] problems.”
The reality indeed is far from such assumptions. According to Dr. Sy, 21% of Asian Americans are uninsured and 12.5% live below the poverty line. Many also have language barriers which, along with the lack of financial resources, keep them form navigating America’s convoluted healthcare system.
Dr. Sy also mentioned that the group’s social and cultural practices — like putting the family over the self, holding a fatalistic view of illness or subscribing to more “traditional” types of healing (for Filipinos this include prayer and religious healing) and keeping topics like domestic violence and sexual orientation taboo have acted as barriers for a healthier Asian American community.
--
On the West Coast, several campaigns have worked tirelessly within the community to try and break down some of these barriers. Ted Fang, of Asian Week, who is one of the vocal leaders of San Francisco Hep B Free discussed (in the video above) how the high insurance rates of Asian Americans — some 90% of Asian Americans have health insurance — means that it’s not just about improving access to healthcare. Instead, specifically tailored awareness campaigns aimed at both patients and primary care physicians, are needed to break down the cultural stigmas around Hepatitis B.
Not surprisingly, the strategy of actually collecting community-specific data about a disease that disproportionately affects said community actually works. Fang reports in the article that nearly two-thirds of San Francisco doctors have pledged to test at-risk patients for Hepatitis B, and the Hep B Free campaign in the Bay Area is now being considered for adoption in other cities around the country.
It’s great to see recognition for those community leaders who are in the trenches, working on a non-glamorous, but nonetheless important, problem like Hepatitis B. Furthermore, their efforts speak to the critical necessity for more large race-specific, epidemiological studies, so that we can start more dialogues on stigmatized health issues and begin to identify new ways to help save lives within the APIA community.
I’ve heard a lot lately about San Francisco’s Hep B Free campaign, a public campaign to increase hepatitis B awareness and vaccination in the Bay Area. According to Hep B Free’s website, Hepatitis B — which results from infection by the HBV virus – causes liver cancer in 80% of diagnosed patients. Further, the bloodborne HBV virus can survive for more than 7 days outside of the body and is 100 times more infectious than HIV. Sadly, HBV infections are frequently missed by primary care physicians even though diagnosis only requires a simple blood test.
Currently, 1.25 million Americans are infected with HBV, of which roughly half are Asian American. In fact, HBV is one of the leading causes of death for the Asian American community; 1 in 10 Asian Americans are currently infected with Hepatitis B.
In a talk to the 2nd annual Asian American Health Conference, Dr. Francisco Sy of the NIH noted some of the cultural and linguistic barriers that appear to influence the high HBV infection rates amongst Asian Americans:
--
Decrying that too many health academics do too much “helicopter” research in minority communities — i.e., go in and out to study the population in the short term without really getting to know them — Dr. Sy argued that “community is so important and we need to be treated as partners [in health studies] and not guinea pigs.”
Dr. Sy also contended that the stereotype which characterizes Asian Americans as the “model minority” has contributed to the dearth on health data for the group, a detriment for the community because data is what gets institutions like the NIH to give money to do further studies or finance programs.
“If there is no data,” said Dr. Sy, “there is no funding and communities suffer because Asian Americans are considered Ômodel minorities’ then people think they don’t have any [health] problems.”
The reality indeed is far from such assumptions. According to Dr. Sy, 21% of Asian Americans are uninsured and 12.5% live below the poverty line. Many also have language barriers which, along with the lack of financial resources, keep them form navigating America’s convoluted healthcare system.
Dr. Sy also mentioned that the group’s social and cultural practices — like putting the family over the self, holding a fatalistic view of illness or subscribing to more “traditional” types of healing (for Filipinos this include prayer and religious healing) and keeping topics like domestic violence and sexual orientation taboo have acted as barriers for a healthier Asian American community.
--
On the West Coast, several campaigns have worked tirelessly within the community to try and break down some of these barriers. Ted Fang, of Asian Week, who is one of the vocal leaders of San Francisco Hep B Free discussed (in the video above) how the high insurance rates of Asian Americans — some 90% of Asian Americans have health insurance — means that it’s not just about improving access to healthcare. Instead, specifically tailored awareness campaigns aimed at both patients and primary care physicians, are needed to break down the cultural stigmas around Hepatitis B.
Not surprisingly, the strategy of actually collecting community-specific data about a disease that disproportionately affects said community actually works. Fang reports in the article that nearly two-thirds of San Francisco doctors have pledged to test at-risk patients for Hepatitis B, and the Hep B Free campaign in the Bay Area is now being considered for adoption in other cities around the country.
It’s great to see recognition for those community leaders who are in the trenches, working on a non-glamorous, but nonetheless important, problem like Hepatitis B. Furthermore, their efforts speak to the critical necessity for more large race-specific, epidemiological studies, so that we can start more dialogues on stigmatized health issues and begin to identify new ways to help save lives within the APIA community.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Photos & videos from 4/28 AD Preview Event!
Click here to see more photos from Frank Jang!
Videographer: Huy Ngaou
Speech by Larry Kitagawa, MC and Community Ambassador:
Speech by Ted Fang, Director of Asian Week Foundation and Steering Committee Member of SF Hep B Free:
Speech by Fiona Ma, California State Assemblywoman, 12th District:
Speech by Dr. Edward Chow, Executive Director of the Chinese Community Health Care Association and San Francisco Health Commissioner:
Speech by Sunny Teo, Executive Creative Director of DAE Advertising:
Speech by Elaine Fong, Community Ambassador and volunteer actor in "Family" commercial:
Acknowledgments by Ted Fang:
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Donate your gifts for our silent auction!
Watch this hilarious video of Mary Jung asking for gift donations and then DONATE to the silent auction activity at the October 15th Fundraising Gala for the SF Hep B Free Campaign!
Send your gifts to Mary Jung @ 809 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 or email Mary for more information!
Don't have any gifts to donate?
How about making a cash donation to SFhepBfree? Your support is greatly appreciated!
Monday, June 29, 2009
SF Hep B Free and Supervisor Maxwell Promote Hepatitis B Awareness in Visitacion Valley
SF Hep B Free and Supervisor Maxwell Promote Hepatitis B Awareness in Visitacion Valley -Free biodegradable grocery bags to be distributed to local merchants-
WHAT: To further promote their citywide effort to educate, screen, and vaccinate all Asian and Pacific Islanders for hepatitis B, SF Hep B Free has teamed up with Supervisor Sophie Maxwell to outreach to the Asian American community in Visitacion Valley. Maxwell along with representatives from the neighborhood, and the SF Hep B Free campaign will distribute free bright-yellow biodegradeable shopping bags with imprinted hepatitis B prevention messages to local merchants.
"Hepatitis B is manageable and preventable," said District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. "It is important for people to get tested and become informed about Hepatitis B."
One side of the bag carries the "B a Hero" logo of the SF Hep B Free campaign, which encourages all San Franciscans to be a hero by simply getting tested for the hepatitis B virus and encouraging their friends and families to get tested as well. The other side of the bag displays the hepatitis B message in four languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.
The SF Hep B Free bags were donated by Hayward-based Tri Star Plastic, Inc. Tri Star CEO Andrew Chen's father was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B several years ago and underwent a successful liver transplant. Now, Chen says he wishes to do whatever he can to let people know about hepatitis B, which, left unmonitored and untreated, can cause cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer and liver failure. Hepatitis B is responsible for one-in-four liver cancer cases among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.
"Hepatitis B is a serious disease," says Chen. "I'd like to see more dialogue about this disease and more action, so that more lives can be saved."
WHEN: Monday, June 29, 2009, 11:30 am
WHO: Sophie Maxwell, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 10
Ted Fang, AsianWeek Foundation, SF Hep B Free Campaign member
Janet Zola, Health Prevention Specialist, SF Dept. of Public Health
WHERE: Departing from Sterling Bank at 11:45am.
2555 San Bruno Avenue (near Burrows)
San Francisco, CA
VISUALS: Interviews with SF Hep B Free spokespersons and Supervisor Maxwell.
###
ABOUT HBV: Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) are disproportionately impacted by Hepatitis B. It is a disease of the liver caused by HBV, a virus often called a "silent killer" because it can cause liver cancer, cirrhosis or liver failure without producing symptoms. San Francisco has the highest liver cancer rate in the nation and 80% of liver cancer in APIs is caused by HBV. But it's preventable with a simple vaccine.
ABOUT SF Hep B Free: SF Hep B Free is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between city government, private healthcare and community organizations. The program's goal is to make San Francisco a hepatitis B-free city by (1) creating public and healthcare provider awareness about the importance of testing & vaccinating APIS for hepatitis B; (2) promoting routine HBV screenings and vaccinations within the primary care medical community; and (3) facilitating access to treatment for chronically infected individuals. http://www.sfhepbfree.org
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa carried this important message in a public service announcement that was played during the May 12 homeplate ceremony.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, October 24, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
