The second stage of the social and educational campaign is starting. Wake up while the HCV virus is dozing. Join the WZW C Academy !!
After the success of the first meetings, the Urszula Jaworska Foundation will organize further educational workshops for patients with Hepatitis C and their relatives, as well as training for infectious disease specialists. Meetings will be held in the largest infectious disease treatment centers in Poland.
The next meeting of the WZW C Academy will be held on October 4, 2012 at 15.00 at the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station at ul. 6 nurses in Lublin. The next workshops are planned for November 6, 2012 in Łódź and November 29, 2012 in Krakow. We cordially invite patients with hepatitis C and their relatives!
Hepatitis C, caused by HCV, is a global health problem and the most common cause of liver disease. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, the number of infected people in the world ranges from 170 to 300 million. In Poland, even over 700 people can be infected with HCV – that is why it is so important to carry out preventive and educational activities that not only can reduce the number of infections, but also reduce the stigmatization of infected people.
The HCV Academy is part of the nationwide social campaign “Wake up while the HCV virus is dozing”, which aims to raise public knowledge about HCV infection, reduce the scale of the epidemic and improve the quality of life of patients with hepatitis C.
As part of the campaign, the website www.akademiawzwc.pl was launched and numerous educational activities are carried out on social networks – the “Mr. Wątroba” profile on Facebook and Twitter. An important element of the project is the appeal I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW, addressed to the authorities of the Republic of Poland, which can be signed by every Internet user. Its content includes postulates regarding the need to take immediate action, e.g. by the government, the Ministry of Health and the National Health Fund. The proposals include the issues of changes in medical procedures, the introduction of compulsory HCV tests and an extensive information and education campaign. Taking them may significantly reduce the number of hepatitis C infections in Poland.
The reason for initiating the “Wake up while the HCV virus dorms” campaign was the alarming and unpublished results of a study conducted by the GfK Polonia research institute in February this year. The knowledge of the Polish society about HCV, possible sources of infections, their consequences and the prevention of hepatitis C infections was examined. The study confirmed that HCV is still a potentially serious epidemiological threat, as the society is not aware of how to protect itself against infection. Here are some frightening facts: as many as 32,1% of respondents had never heard of HCV / HCV, only 6% associated the acronym HCV with virus and liver disease, 61% were mistakenly convinced about the existence of a vaccine against HCV, and only 9% declared that performed tests to detect HCV1 infection.
The Foundation aims to educate patients and support doctors’ work by means of activities aimed at patients and doctors. During the meetings, patients will benefit from the knowledge of a specialist doctor and psychotherapist. They will receive practical tips on how to live with a chronic disease and prevent the spread of infection. Thanks to the professional support of a psychotherapist, they will learn how to talk about hepatitis C and deal with the limitations of the disease. The workshops are designed to help you go through the treatment process, and are also a unique opportunity to establish relationships with other patients and ask questions to the experts present at the meeting. During meetings designed especially for them, doctors will obtain information on modern HCV therapies and learn the techniques of communicating with the patient. The meetings organized so far in Wrocław, Bydgoszcz and Katowice met with great interest and enthusiastic reception of the participants.
The campaign’s ambassador is the well-known journalist Katarzyna Dowbor. The project is supported by Agnieszka Kowalska – the wife of actor Maciej Kozłowski, who died in 2010 at WZW C, as well as his friends and acquaintances. The Urszula Jaworska Foundation works in concert and in cooperation with the Hepatology Coalition. The content partner of the project is the Polish Group of HCV Experts. The strategic partner is Janssen Polska Sp. z o. o. The Honorary Patronage over the campaign was assumed by the Spouse of the President of the Republic of Poland, Mrs. Anna Komorowska.
1 Data refer to respondents who have heard of HCV / hepatitis C / hepatitis C or hepatitis C (68%).