Public Awareness About Hepatitis B Infection Hepatitis B infection is one of the most common and alarming communicable diseases

that target the Asian American and Pacific Islander populations. A non-profit organization, such as Malama Pono, is aiming to eradicate the hepatitis B infection in Hawaii. In coordination with Malama Pono, Kauai Community College school of nursing participated in the first step of the hepatitis B eradication program by making the public aware of the disease. Nursing students and other health care providers are responsible in disseminating information about Hepatitis B to the public. During our community health fair project at the New Hope Church in Kapaa, we came across different nationalities that did not know about the disease. We educated them how the disease is being transmitted, how is diagnosed, and what the population can do to prevent it. We also instructed them to contact their physician to confirm if they have received the vaccination before or if they could be tested for the hepatitis B virus. Furthermore, we provided the people some helpful resources that they could go to if they wanted to be tested for the hepatitis B virus, such as Malama Ponos free screening test program. In addition, we handed them brochures that would help them become more aware of the disease and ways to prevent it. For example, a teacher at the Kapaa High School approached me and said, I am familiar with hepatitis C but not hepatitis B. I provided her education about the disease and ways to prevent it. The teacher was very thankful that the KCC school of nursing was reaching out to the community to provide awareness to the population. The teacher grabbed some our brochures and plan to educate and discuss it with her class on Monday. In order for the health fair project to be effective, the group created a poster board that discusses about hepatitis, risk factors, how to diagnose it, disease-transmission, and ways to prevent it. In addition, we created a brochure that they could take home or share with their families and friends. Pre and post tests were administered before and after the educational presentations to assess knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding hepatitis B. Several evaluation tools were also developed to assess the quality of the project. The people who attended our health fair verbalized their understanding of the disease and were very thankful that we were there to educate them about hepatitis B. During the teaching, it was also visible that the members were paying attention as they had direct eye contact with each of the speakers. As we were analyzing the results of our performance evaluation tool, we could say that our health fair presentation was effective. The pastor and other members of the church were very thankful about our presence to educate their fellow members about hepatitis B. In order to improve the student nurse role in this community project, I believe that we should have been more engaging and organized in the presentation by encouraging the members of the church to gather around after the mass and be educated with hepatitis B. However, the team did their best to educate the participants about the life-threatening disease. We should have encouraged the people who participated in the survey to have their blood drawn and be tested for hepatitis B. Another improvement includes a discussion style presentation where everyone is a cohesive group and is encouraged to ask questions. In conclusion, the duties and responsibilities of the healthcare providers are to reach out to the community to provide education and offer free screening programs. Our roles as healthcare providers are to identify those who are at risk and who are already infected with the disease, so that they could be treated immediately. Public awareness about hepatitis B infection is the key to eradicate the disease in Hawaii.

Peer Evaluation Roxanne Andres: 10 (she communicated with the Malama Pono committee about our health fair presentation, helped with the poster board, and she was very engaging in educating the public during our health fair) Renee Iwata: 10 (she helped us construct the poster board, she was very engaging and determined to educate the public during our health fair) Mele Givens: 10 (she approaches the public and educate them about our topic) Krystal Lyngaton: 10 (she communicated with the pastor of New Hope Church, she provided her best to educate the public about our topic).