"Mental health inpatient admission provides an important opportunity to reach people who may otherwise remain undiagnosed or disconnected from treatment and support,” says AOD and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Yodith Tekabe from the Austin clinical team.

“Hepatitis C is curable, and integrating screening into routine mental health care can reduce missed opportunities and inequities in access to treatment. If left untreated, hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. Fortunately, it is quick to screen for and can be effectively cured with treatment,” she explains.

Ms Tekabe and Dr Keri Alexander, Lead Addiction Medicine Specialist, presented at the 16th Australasian Viral Hepatitis Conference on the importance of clinician education in supporting universal hepatitis B and C screening in mental health inpatient settings. They highlighted existing knowledge gaps among mental health clinicians and how targeted education can improve confidence and readiness to discuss hepatitis screening, treatment and cure with consumers.

Rates of hepatitis C are also much higher among people living with serious mental illness than in the general population, which makes mental health services an important setting for screening and linkage to care,” Ms Tekabe says.

Dr Keri Alexander and Ms Yodith Tekabe at the 16th Australasian Viral Hepatitis Conference.

Since 2025, the Hamilton Centre team, in collaboration with Austin’s Mental Health Division and Gastroenterology Department, has been delivering education to all adult mental health nurses and doctors at Austin Hospital.

“Early findings have been encouraging, with screening increasing from 14% to 52% and approximately 5.7% active hepatitis C infection identified among those screened. Consumers requiring treatment were identified earlier, and referral and linkage with the liver clinic improved,” Ms Tekabe explains.

Ms Tekabe also presented this work and participated in a panel discussion at the Drug and Alcohol Nurses of Australasia (DANA) Conference, where she contributed from a mental health and AOD nurse practitioner perspective. The discussion reinforced the importance of integrated care and collaboration across disciplines and services.

“One of my main takeaways was that sustainable change cannot be achieved by one clinician or one service alone. Education, strong multidisciplinary relationships and clear clinical pathways all need to work together," she says.

"I want to acknowledge everyone who has contributed and is still contributing to the success of this project. This research project was developed collaboratively, and it would not have been possible without the commitment, knowledge and support of the whole team,” Yodith says.

If you’re supporting someone with co-occurring mental health and addiction concerns and need help with referrals, advice or service navigation, visit our referral page or call our Advice Line on 1800 517 383.

Development team:

• Yodith Tekabe, AOD/MH Nurse Practitioner, Hamilton Centre, Austin Health.

• Dr Keri Alexander, Lead Addiction Medicine Specialist, Hamilton Centre, Austin Health.

• Partha Das: Deputy Clinical Director, Adult and Old Age Mental Health Division; SECU Clinical Lead, Austin Health.

• A/Prof Josephine Grace: Director of Gastroenterology, Austin Health.

• Katherine Thomas: Endoscopy Access Nurse Unit Manager & Outreach Hepatitis Clinical Nurse Consultant, Austin Health.

• James Toohey: University of Melbourne Department of Medicine, Austin Health Academic Centre.

• Francis McNamara: Senior Mental Health Nurse, Adult Mental Health Division, Austin Health.

• Victoria Harpwood: Clinical Director, Adult Mental Health Division, Austin Health.

• Julie Hume: Directorate Manager, Adult Mental Health Division, Austin Health.

• Maryam Dar: Clinical Director, Specialty Division, Austin Health.

• Jacqui Richmond: Burnet Institute, Victoria.