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Ready to embrace challenges of liver health role

New Hepatitis Foundation of NZ board member Dr Anna Rolleston is looking forward to the challenges of the role. As the managing director of Manawaora/The Centre for Health, which specialises in a kaupapa Maori primary care approach to long-term condition management, Anna is passionate about supporting organisations that have an impact on Maori and Pacific Island families.She founded Manawaora 10 years ago and focuses on conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and renal conditions. “Not so m...

Cementing spot as leading liver health info source

The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand website is performing increasingly well in Google searches following the introduction of a new content strategy in 2020.The strategy aims to better position the organisation as NZ’s leading source of liver health information. Since implementation began on September 25, the foundation has climbed higher in the list of results that show up for various liver health search terms.When searching ‘Liver NZ’ in September, for example, the foundation was the ...

Performance highlights 2019-2020

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Fuel your body the right way

Your diet plays a huge part in your health and well-being. Eating well and being active helps improve mood, sleep and brain function, and it increases your chances of living a long life to enjoy with your family and friends. Healthy eating can lower your risk of heart disease, liver damage, stroke and some cancers.  What should you eat?To maintain a healthy diet it's recommended you eat a variety of foods that give your body the nutrients it...

NZ hub for Australasian health conference

A hub model has been announced for the 2021 Australasian Viral Hepatitis Conference. That means there'll be a branch of the event in Auckland as well as in Brisbane and Sydney. The hub model allows for face-to-face interaction while ensuring attendees and speakers are protected in these COVID times. Our operations manager Kelly Hayes is on the organising committee and says this year's conference will be well worth attending.Each day of the three-day conference will take place in a...

Encouraging Chinese people to love their livers

New Zealand’s Chinese communities are among the highest risk groups for liver diseases such as hepatitis B. That’s why liver health nurses around the North Island, particularly in Auckland, will be increasing efforts to engage with them in 2021. These engagement initiatives include next month’s Chinese New Year festival in Auckland. Three Hepatitis Foundation of NZ nurses will attend the festival to raise awareness of hepatitis B and other liver diseases. Hepatitis B is contagiou...

Tips for staying healthy and happy these holidays

The Christmas holiday season can be a tough time for some people; stress and loneliness are common feelings, particularly for those who are already battling mental or physical health issues. But rest assured there are ways to minimise negative feelings.Routine, routine, routineIt’s tempting to abandon our usual routines when we’re on holiday. But maintaining healthy habits – eating well, being active, getting plenty of sleep and making time for things that make you feel good will help you ...

Rule change for some potential blood donors

The blood deferral period for men who have had sex with other men has been reduced from 12 months to just three, reports the NZ Herald.Sex workers and those who have lived in a country with widespread HIV infection have also had their deferral periods reduced to three months.The New Zealand Blood Service says the changes are in line with other countries such as the UK, Canada, and the US.Auckland Pride director Max Tweedie says the changes are long overdue. ...

There should be universal testing

I grew up between Connecticut and New York City. I spent a lot of my childhood in hospital because I had a hip problem. Over the years, I had many hip surgeries and blood transfusions.I believe it was from one of those blood transfusions that I got hepatitis C.I found out I had the virus when my mother was having a knee replacement and a friend and I went to give blood. About two weeks later, I got a letter in the mail saying they needed to see me at the hospital.We knew nothing about hepat...

How to love your liver this holiday season

We all know over-indulging on culinary delights is a big part of Christmas. It’s a social time of year and getting together, for more people, centres around the dining table. But all that extra eating and drinking means your liver has to work extra-hard to process food and drink and clean toxins from the blood. This can lead to serious health issues. So how can you keep your liver fighting fit throughout the holiday season? Drink in modera...

What do Privacy Act changes mean for liver healthcare?

Changes to New Zealand’s Privacy Act came into force on December 1, 2020. As a healthcare provider, patient privacy is very important to us and everyone registered with us can rest assured we will adhere to these changes without exception.  The changes mean:If you’re enrolled with us, we will only collect information relevant to you and your hepatitis B or relevant liver health. We won’t gather any information that’s not related to management of your hepatitis We...

New trial for people taking antivirals

P3 Research is running a new hepatitis B clinical trial in Tauranga, the Hawke's Bay, Wellington and Waikanae for people already taking antiviral medications. Volunteers are being sought for this trial. P3 Research is one of many pharmaceutical companies working on a cure for hepatitis B. The process includes clinical trials, which give patients a chance to get involved with developing a cure. New Zealand is supporting the World Health Organisation's goal of elimina...

So you've registered with us. What happens now?

Once you’ve registered with the foundation, you’ll receive a package from us that will include:•    A consent form for you to sign and return. This asks you to give us permission to collect and store your health information for the purposes of assessment and care. It also asks for your consent for us to work with your GP/specialist to provide ongoing support, monitoring and clinical follow-up•    A letter confirming your blood test results or a blood test fo...

Five superfoods for your liver

As the human body’s largest organ, the liver has some pretty important functions – 500 of them, to be exact. It makes bile to help break down food, stores nutrients and vitamins and fights infections and disease, to name three. With such a heavy workload, it’s no surprise the liver needs a lot of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to keep itself going. The good news is by eating and drinking certain foods we can ensure it ge...

New additions to foundation team

Dr Dara de las Heras, a Waikato gastroenterologist, and nurse practitioner intern Nicola Caine have joined our team, to enhance our patient care services. Nicola also works for Bay of Plenty District Health Board as a hepatitis C and HIV nurse.This week we also welcome to Remya Raju, our newest administration staff member. She'll be helping with patient calls and supporting our team of nurses and is based in Whakatane. ...

Zoom enables better patient-nurse communication

Our patients now have even more ways to engage with us, with our liver health nurses able to offer virtual consultations via Zoom. Appointments will be sent to patient email addresses; patients can join the appointment by clicking on the link in the email at the scheduled time and don't need to download any programmes.This makes liver health care and support even more accessible, as patients won’t have to travel to nurse appointments and can discuss their condition in the comfort and...

Fijian festival great chance for engagement

A festival in Te Puke to celebrate Fiji's 50 years of independence last weekend was a good opportunity to mingle with cultural communities and raise awareness of liver health issues.Hepatitis community nurse Helen Purcell attended with Pacific Island Community Tauranga Trust representatives and says it was a wonderful day with plenty of people keen to learn more about liver health and, specifically, hepatitis B.The trust is a Pacific Island Health Service based in Tauranga that support...

Scholarship pays off for nursing student

Eastern Bay of Plenty nurse Maria Mitchell was debt-free when she finished her degree, thanks to one of our scholarships. Maria, an ICU nurse at Whakatane Hospital, received funding to help with her study costs throughout her three-year degree. In return, she was expected to submit progress updates every six months and provide evidence she has passed each year.“I applied for this scholarship as I met the criteria and was going into a nursing degree, which costs a lot of money,�...

Hepatitis issues highlighted in NZ Medical Journal article

The issues surrounding diagnosis of hepatitis B – and the risks the virus poses to New Zealanders – are highlighted in an NZ Medical Journal article published on July 31. The article, written by Professor Ed Gane, Auckland Liver Health Unit deputy director and Hepatitis Foundation of NZ (HFNZ) board member, as well as HFNZ staff, is based on data largely sourced from the foundation and will help target ...

Positive figures show rise in hepatitis awareness

People with hepatitis B need regular monitoring, and new data shows awareness of this is on the rise. The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand supports people living with hepatitis and educates them on the need for six-monthly blood tests. Our latest figures show the message is getting through: in July 2019 we received 398 blood test results. From July 1-21 this year that number had increased to 864. The total number of bl...

Cured of hepatitis C

Some people said he was lucky to be alive. Now Damo is free from hepatitis C. He has shared his story to help raise awareness of hepatitis and the importance of being treated.Video courtesy of AbbVie....

New clinical trial for chronic hepatitis B

There is a lot of research going on around the world to find a medication that will cure hepatitis B by eliminating the virus from the liver. Many people with chronic hepatitis B will be on medication such as entecavir and tenofovir, which, although effective at reducing viral replication, can't cure the disease and must be taken long-term. Something more is needed.P3 Research in Wellington, Tauranga, Hawke’s Bay and Waikanae is undertaking a new study for people already ta...

Morning tea competition helps educate GPs

GPs around New Zealand are encouraged to get involved in a competition ahead of World Hepatitis Day in July. The Hepatitis Foundation of NZ is giving away a morning tea to the GP clinic with the most creative hepatitis display board. Entries are welcomed from around the country. GP clinic teams simply need to create a hepatitis display and send photos of their efforts to hepteam@hfnz.nz by July 24.The morning tea competition has run for the past several years with great results, a...

Patient engagement boosted during lockdown

COVID-19 has disrupted New Zealand but it has a bright side: people with liver health issues have benefited through plenty of engagement with our nurses. Our community hepatitis nurses, spread around the North Island, work regularly with patients to ensure they have the support and treatment they need. Sometimes self-care isn’t a priority for patients due to lifestyle demands, but during the level four lockdown most had time to change their focus and work towards being as healthy as possi...

Hepatitis B and COVID-19

Most people with hepatitis B aren't at increased risk of serious disease should they contract COVID-19.However people who have been diagnosed with advanced liver disease (including cirrhosis) or who have other conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are at increased risk of serious illness if they get COVID-19. These people should be extra-vigilant in protecting themselves against the virus. People living with hepatitis B who are on treatment should not change o...