Helen Tran on working with the Vietnamese community in Victoria

LiverWELL

Helen Tran is a Hepatitis Victoria Project Officer working to raise awareness about hepatitis B in Victoria's Vietnamese community and encourage people to get blood tests, vaccinations and timely treatment. "Liver cancer is very prevalent among Australian-Vietnamese and hepatitis is one of the main reasons," she says. Helen has been speaking to groups such as the Vietnamese Arthritis Association, and she has been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who tell her after her session that they will get a blood test and vaccination. "Presentations to community groups need to be made fun, no more than 20-30 minutes long and there should be ample time allowed for questions from the audience," she says. In addition, the language barrier can be a big problem when speaking to communities. "If they can't understand completely it can't help them take action," she says.