A TRIPARTITE APPROACH - PATIENTS, HEALTH AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS COMBINE TO IMPROVE PUBLIC AND MEDICAL INFORMATION AND EDUCATION ABOUT GENITAL HERPES

Genital herpes is a common infection. Myths, ignorance and social stig ma contribute to patients not always receiving optimal management. A p atient driven initiative established the New Zealand Herpes Foundation (NZHF) in 1994 to support and educate people with herpes; reduce the ignorance and stigma by educating the public; improve the medical mana gement. A project, supported by an education grant from GlaxoWellcome NZ Limited, was undertaken which included the establishment of a toll free helpline; appointment of a Professional Advisory Board (PAB); the development of guidelines on the medical management; production of pa tient information pamphlets; provision of public and health profession al education forums; and national lobbying for improved availability o f pharmaceuticals. The results reveal the following: (i) patient infor mation - the toll free helpline received an average of 600 calls per m onth over the last two years; patient information packs are requested by approximately 20% of callers; approximately 10% of people speak to a counsellor; ii) public information - 36 articles have been printed i n mainstream newspapers and magazines; five public seminars have resul ted in the establishment of three new herpes support groups; (iii) med ical management - successful negotiation for improved access to oral-a ntiviral therapies; guidelines on the medical management have been,dis tributed to all general practitioners and other allied medical special ties; 25% of these doctors have requested the NZHF patient information pamphlets. The paper suggests that the NZHF is an independent, credib le authority on the medical management of genital herpes; an effective resource for patient information, help and support; and an agent for affecting change at government level to improve the management of geni tal herpes.