African American Council On Liver Awareness Convenes In Washington D.C.

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114525.php

African American Council On Liver Awareness Convenes In Washington D.C.

Article Date: 10 Jul 2008 - 4:00 PDT

Concerns over the increasing number of hepatitis C cases in the past four months

has brought together African Americans in the fields of medicine, social work

and advocacy to the nation's capitol to discuss its implications in their

community.

The AACLA summit took place at the Capital Hilton hotel, June 26-29, 2008,

hosted by its Chief Executive Officer and President, Johanna Blanding-Koskinen,

and included key health providers of the African American community: Mark

Colomb, Ph.d, of " My Brother's Keeper, " Luther Virgil, M.D. and CEO of the

National Minority Clinical Research Association. (NMCRA) and Terrence Young,

Program Manager/Outreach Coordinator of the " Community Education Group " based in

Washington, D.C.

Johanna Blanding-Koskinen, previously the executive director of the Hepatitis C

Multicultural Outreach, is the official spokesperson of the council,

coordinating efforts to bring the hep C education, prevention and treatment

message to the African American community, a group representing over 14% of the

United States population. The seriousness of hepatitis C is compounded by the

fact that African Americans tend to fall into the category with of the most

resistant strain of the virus, and treatment is not always as effective for them

as other races.

" As African Americans are not regularly sought out for clinical trials, this

makes finding the right treatment more difficult, " says Ms. Blanding-Koskinen.

AACLA's agenda will involve strategy sessions that will address the

disproportionate effect of Hepatitis C on the African American population,

including the creation of educational messages that are culturally sensitive,

culturally appropriate, and encourages community education, awareness and

responsibility in the prevention of spreading the virus.

AACLA's efforts, through programs like the Hepatitis C Multicultural Outreach

will focus on the ten states with the highest population of African Americans,

using various forms of media. Poster campaigns have already made an impact,

across the United States, with slogans that read, " HEP C: LEARN HOW YOU GET IT.

LEARN HOW NOT TO, " and " IT'S NOT ABOUT COLOR. IT'S ABOUT CARE. IT'S ABOUT A

CURE, " speaking to the heart of health disparity issues within the African

American community.

AACLA's poster campaign has brought calls from across the U.S., including states

outside of the targeted campaign areas of New York, Florida, land, Texas,

and other states, where communities of color are of significant numbers. " We've

received calls from everywhere - Arizona, New Mexico and Tijuana, " says, Ms.

Blanding-Koskinen.

It's no surprise to Ms. Blanding-Koskinen, that AACLA's key message: " It's not

about color. It's about care. It's about a cure " has touched a nerve outside of

the African American community. We get calls from everyone, not just African

Americans, " says Ms. Blanding-Koskinen. " Everyone is concerned about this virus,

and they just want to talk with someone who can give them the tools to make

right decisions about care.

" Our council turns no one away. We're here for everyone. "

AACLA also offers free screening and testing for hep B and C nationwide,

directing callers to agencies and organizations in their city that will provide

health service and other resources as needed.

The African American Council on Liver Awareness (AACLA), is a national

organization promoting viral hepatitis prevention, treatment and research in

order to optimize the health of the African American community.

AACLA receives and identifies emerging and established information concerning

products and services used to diagnose, prevent and treat viral hepatitis in the

African American population. The council serves as a credible resource in both

the African American community and the viral liver diseases arena by providing

policy and information analysis, education and technical assistance.

AACLA has office locations: Washington D.C. and Kansas City, Missouri. Their

toll-free hep C helpline is 1.888.436.HEP C (4372). The website is located at:

http://www.aacla-national.org.

As the most common cause of liver-related deaths, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is now

regarded as a major Health problem in the US. HCV is thought to cause

approximately 10,000 deaths annually in the US. Unfortunately, that number is

expected to increase threefold by 2020.

In the US, people of all races are adversely affected by HCV infection. However,

for reasons that are not yet understood, African Americans have disparate

clinical features (e.g., response to therapy) and more complications from HCV

infection than Caucasians.

http://www.aacla-national.org

Copyright: Medical News Today

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114525.php

African American Council On Liver Awareness Convenes In Washington D.C.

Article Date: 10 Jul 2008 - 4:00 PDT

Concerns over the increasing number of hepatitis C cases in the past four months

has brought together African Americans in the fields of medicine, social work

and advocacy to the nation's capitol to discuss its implications in their

community.

The AACLA summit took place at the Capital Hilton hotel, June 26-29, 2008,

hosted by its Chief Executive Officer and President, Johanna Blanding-Koskinen,

and included key health providers of the African American community: Mark

Colomb, Ph.d, of " My Brother's Keeper, " Luther Virgil, M.D. and CEO of the

National Minority Clinical Research Association. (NMCRA) and Terrence Young,

Program Manager/Outreach Coordinator of the " Community Education Group " based in

Washington, D.C.

Johanna Blanding-Koskinen, previously the executive director of the Hepatitis C

Multicultural Outreach, is the official spokesperson of the council,

coordinating efforts to bring the hep C education, prevention and treatment

message to the African American community, a group representing over 14% of the

United States population. The seriousness of hepatitis C is compounded by the

fact that African Americans tend to fall into the category with of the most

resistant strain of the virus, and treatment is not always as effective for them

as other races.

" As African Americans are not regularly sought out for clinical trials, this

makes finding the right treatment more difficult, " says Ms. Blanding-Koskinen.

AACLA's agenda will involve strategy sessions that will address the

disproportionate effect of Hepatitis C on the African American population,

including the creation of educational messages that are culturally sensitive,

culturally appropriate, and encourages community education, awareness and

responsibility in the prevention of spreading the virus.

AACLA's efforts, through programs like the Hepatitis C Multicultural Outreach

will focus on the ten states with the highest population of African Americans,

using various forms of media. Poster campaigns have already made an impact,

across the United States, with slogans that read, " HEP C: LEARN HOW YOU GET IT.

LEARN HOW NOT TO, " and " IT'S NOT ABOUT COLOR. IT'S ABOUT CARE. IT'S ABOUT A

CURE, " speaking to the heart of health disparity issues within the African

American community.

AACLA's poster campaign has brought calls from across the U.S., including states

outside of the targeted campaign areas of New York, Florida, land, Texas,

and other states, where communities of color are of significant numbers. " We've

received calls from everywhere - Arizona, New Mexico and Tijuana, " says, Ms.

Blanding-Koskinen.

It's no surprise to Ms. Blanding-Koskinen, that AACLA's key message: " It's not

about color. It's about care. It's about a cure " has touched a nerve outside of

the African American community. We get calls from everyone, not just African

Americans, " says Ms. Blanding-Koskinen. " Everyone is concerned about this virus,

and they just want to talk with someone who can give them the tools to make

right decisions about care.

" Our council turns no one away. We're here for everyone. "

AACLA also offers free screening and testing for hep B and C nationwide,

directing callers to agencies and organizations in their city that will provide

health service and other resources as needed.

The African American Council on Liver Awareness (AACLA), is a national

organization promoting viral hepatitis prevention, treatment and research in

order to optimize the health of the African American community.

AACLA receives and identifies emerging and established information concerning

products and services used to diagnose, prevent and treat viral hepatitis in the

African American population. The council serves as a credible resource in both

the African American community and the viral liver diseases arena by providing

policy and information analysis, education and technical assistance.

AACLA has office locations: Washington D.C. and Kansas City, Missouri. Their

toll-free hep C helpline is 1.888.436.HEP C (4372). The website is located at:

http://www.aacla-national.org.

As the most common cause of liver-related deaths, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is now

regarded as a major Health problem in the US. HCV is thought to cause

approximately 10,000 deaths annually in the US. Unfortunately, that number is

expected to increase threefold by 2020.

In the US, people of all races are adversely affected by HCV infection. However,

for reasons that are not yet understood, African Americans have disparate

clinical features (e.g., response to therapy) and more complications from HCV

infection than Caucasians.

http://www.aacla-national.org

Copyright: Medical News Today

_________________________________________________________________

Use video conversation to talk face-to-face with Windows Live Messenger.

http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/connect_your_way.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Ref\

resh_messenger_video_072008