TEST CURE LIVE was a national hepatitis C awareness campaign that aimed to engage and motivate people living with hepatitis C to speak to their doctor about getting testing and/or being cured of hepatitis C.

TEST CURE LIVE commenced with two pilot campaigns and has since been implemented in specific locations in each state and territory. The locations were chosen carefully based on the estimated number of people living with hepatitis C, and the proportion accessing treatment as well as demographic data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Individual TEST CURE LIVE campaigns have successfully engaged with and motivated people to speak to a doctor about testing and cure.

“This campaign has facilitated our connection with people with hepatitis C that we hadn’t met before. And we were able to connect them with GPs who could cure them – it changed lives” - Executive Officer, Hepatitis ACT

Why do we need to raise awareness of hepatitis C cures?

Around 120,000 Australians live with chronic hepatitis C infection; a blood-borne virus which can lead to liver cancer and liver failure if not treated.

Highly-effective cures known as direct acting antivirals (DAAs) were first listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in March 2016. In comparison, previous therapies were gruelling and relatively ineffective.

Despite initial publicity many people living with hepatitis C remain unaware of the benefits or availability of the new cures. These Australians are missing out on potentially life-saving therapies which are readily available on prescription from their GP and can cure hepatitis C in as little as eight weeks.
 
Initial uptake was strong among people with chronic hepatitis C who were already engaged in care and/or anticipating the availability of the new cures. This group needed little encouragement to commence treatment. However, Australia appears to be following the same pattern as other countries, where once this initial wave of demand is satisfied, engaging others in care becomes much more challenging.

Who is TEST CURE LIVE targeting?

The campaign aimed to fill a gap of people who were not currently accessing alcohol and other drug services and may not be aware of a cure. 

The primary audience for the campaign was people 50 years+, living with hepatitis C with a higher proportion of males than females. The secondary audience for the campaign is people living with hepatitis C from Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian and Egyptian backgrounds.