Using Hip Hop to talk about hepatitis

Viral hepatitis is responsible for 80% of liver cancers worldwide. The majority of primary liver cancers are from untreated chronic hepatitis B or C infection. There are almost 240,000 people living in Australia with chronic hepatitis B infection.

Without medical intervention, up to 1 in 4 people living with chronic hepatitis B may develop liver damage and/or liver cancer. Additionally, 2 in 5 people are unaware they have chronic hepatitis B and may be asymptomatic. The South Sudanese community has been identified to have high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B.

The hip hop project is a community-led hepatitis and liver cancer awareness campaign which aimed to mobilise the South Sudanese community to respond to chronic hepatitis B. The call to action was for the community to talk to their GP about hepatitis B testing. Cancer Council Victoria partnered with the South Sudanese Australian Youth United (SSAYU) to produce a hip hop music video incorporating key hepatitis B messages.

The aim of the project is to promote hepatitis B testing, vaccination, monitoring and treatment within the South Sudanese community by collaborating with South Sudanese youth to develop and produce a song and video with key hepatitis B messages. It is also an opportunity to create a positive dialogue about hepatitis B to reduce stigma and discrimination and to explore the community’s perceptions and experiences of hepatitis B.

• Collaborate with the South Sudanese community to produce a hepatitis B song and video containing key health messages to explore community perceptions and raise awareness of the link between hepatitis B and liver cancer.
• Promote testing, vaccination, monitoring and treatment through the social media campaign, community workshop and PR.
• Create a positive dialogue about hepatitis B to reduce stigma and discrimination by using a hip hop and youth participation methods.
• Provide face to face educational workshop for young South Sudanese artists and community members.

The three-week Facebook digital advertising campaign generating an overwhelming dialogue and support on social media. The campaign also succeeded in creating local conversations within the community, including at the community launch event, which featured a panel discussion with a South Sudanese doctor, community leaders and young people. A key outcome was that the music video was community driven and enabled youth participation.

The social media campaign performed above industry benchmarks, considering our small and niche target audience. There were:

• 28,000 people in the target audience
• 66,000 views
• 840 visits to the campaign website
• 400,000 total impressions (number of times the video was viewed)
• 20 people at community consultation and workshop
• 30 people at video launch
• 18 participants in the evaluation interviews
• 15 participants filming day

Beyond the music video, the project also increased knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B testing, vaccination, treatment and prevention in the community. The project also created a positive dialogue about hepatitis B amongst families and friends to reduce stigma and discrimination.

Key evaluation questions assessed:

• How well we achieved each objective.
• Our working relationship with our partner organisation.

To address these questions, the team combined existing data (drawn from workshops, project notes and media metrics) with qualitative data. Qualitative methods were perceived to be most appropriate for the South Sudanese community. In total, we conducted 3 in-depth interviews with key partners and 18 short, structured interviews with South Sudanese community members aged 18 and above. The evaluation analysis demonstrated the project has met its objectives.