Hosting hep C Peer Education at your work place
Do you work with clients who inject drugs who would benefit from having a hep C peer educator assist them with their health concerns?
A hep C peer educator is someone who is able to provide non judgemental and up to date information about hepatitis C to empower the individual to make decisions about their health particularly with understanding hepatitis C testing, diagnosis, treatment, symptoms, access to free hep C support services as well as the facts about injecting drug use and hepatitis C prevention and transmission. Individuals are also assisted with information about their rights around hepatitis C disclosure, stigma and discrimination.
'Everything that I asked has been answered and explained really well.'
'The gentleman that came was friendly, understanding and he listens. Good info.'
How does hep C peer education work?
Hep C peer educators are employed by the Hepatitis C Council of SA and have personal experiences and up to date knowledge around hepatitis C. The delivery of hep C education to clients is designed to empower the client and their peers including those at risk of initiating drug injecting behaviour with accurate information about the hep C virus.
A peer educator will visit a workplace for approximately two to three hours where they engage with your client(s) through informal one on one conversations aimed at assisting the client with their health concerns. In some settings peer educators facilitate a group where they exchange information and experiences to assist one another with understanding the virus. Peer educators visit workplaces weekly, fortnightly and sometimes bi monthly depending upon the services needs.
'Thanks for supplying phone numbers to help with treatment.'
'I am now able to give information to my son who has hep C.'
Read about our Peer Educator's work at Warinilla hep C treatment clinic.
Tackling shame and stigma through peer education
Many peers speak about not wanting their families, partners even their doctors to know they have or may have contracted hep C therefore they remain silent, undiagnosed, at risk and very often misinformed. Hep C peer educators communicate in an a way that is easy to understand through the sharing of their knowledge and personal experiences to help tackle fear and misconceptions.
'I felt OK to talk about my hep C. Thank you.'
'I would like to have a chat with you as I just got diagnosed with hep C last week...'
To get involved your workplace will need to provide a safe place for a hep C peer educator to have a confidential chat with a client or client group. Our peer educators are currently working at AOD rehabilitation settings, custodial facilities, Clean Needle Programs and community centres. To get started or for further information about the our peer education program please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (08) 8362 8443

