2025 – Joint webinar with WHA

Bridging the Gap: Integrating Mental Health and Hepatitis Care

Integrating mental health services and hepatitis care has become increasingly essential. Studies have found that people living with severe mental illness have an increased prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in comparison to the general population. This can be attributed to the fact that severe mental illness is associated with behaviours that can lead to the transmission of viral hepatitis, including injection drug use.

Screening in mental health care settings, both inpatient and community care, is an important part of a comprehensive hepatitis elimination response. This webinar will explore the efforts to bridge the gap between hepatitis and mental health care. We will share newly developed resources designed to equip mental health professionals with accurate, relevant and practical information on hepatitis testing and treatment, discuss best practice in implementing integrated services and explore implementation barriers, how best to overcome them and the role of advocacy in improving services.

WHA will also highlight the NOhep Medical Visionaries Programme – a practical and peer-led programme, aimed to equip medical professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to lead the fight against viral hepatitis – and its recent expansion to build a broader community of medical professionals.

Chair: 

• Rachel Halford, President, World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), UK

Speakers: 

• Dr Renee Logan, Hospitalist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada
• Prof Krzysztof Krysta, Professor of Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, Poland
• Dr Anastasia Sikora, Psychiatrist, Mazovian Specialist Hospital “Drewnica”, Poland

Programme: 

• Welcome and opening remarks – Prof. Rachel Halford
• Speakers’ presentations 
• Panel Q&A
• Audience Q&A
• Closing remarks