Illinois Hepatitis B Outreach, Awareness, and Education to Immigrants

In alignment with Center for Disease Control (CDC) viral hepatitis goals and current epidemiology, the Illinois Department of Public Health Office of Disease Control Viral Hepatitis Program is requesting applications for Hepatitis B (HBV) outreach, education, and linkage to care programs targeting populations disproportionately impacted by hepatitis B (foreign born Asian and/or African immigrant or refugee population, and persons who use drugs (PWUD). Through the provision of outreach and education services, this funding seeks to increase the priority population(s)’s knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B, increase hepatitis B screening, link people who are chronically infected with hepatitis B into care and decrease viral hepatitis-related morbidity and mortality within priority populations. This funding opportunity will allow organizations to expand their reach through partnering with community partners focused on health equity to enhancing their ability to reach disproportionately affected populations at high risk for hepatitis B. The Initiative is funded through State of Illinois general revenue funding to establish relationship with stakeholders, individuals, and organizations for the purpose of providing Hepatitis B outreach and education programs to underserved foreign born Asian and African immigrant, refugee communities, and persons who use drugs (PWUD) with educational messaging and referral linkages to screening and vaccination services. In 2021, approximately 880,000 to 1.89 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B in the U.S. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to serious health problems, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. Currently, data on the HBV seroprevalence among foreign born and refugee populations from Asian and African communities is not recorded systematically in the US. However, the prevalence of HBV among Asian and African immigrant, refugee communities tend to reflect the prevalence in their country of origin. HBV is highly prevalent (>8%) in East Asian, sub-Saharan African nations, and tend to have high rates of chronic viral hepatitis. The focus of any funded program shall not be screening and vaccination, or treatment efforts, but the outreach to, and the education of, the target population regarding Hepatitis B and referral and linkage opportunities for screening, vaccination, and treatment services. These populations face unique problems that place them at greater risk for Hepatitis B infection, mistrust of traditional western medicine, stigma associated with viral hepatitis, barriers to accessing medical care (Language, insurance, undocumented). Programs should be unique, culturally innovative to the specified target group, and increase ongoing efforts of the Department to eliminate the disparities in screenings, vaccinations, medical management, transmission, and overall health outcomes experienced by Asian and African immigrant, refugee communities, and persons who use drugs (PWUD) relative to Hepatitis B.