Kat's Story
English
Mandarin
Kat’s father has hepatitis B, but nobody in the family is willing to talk about it. For years, they weren’t allowed to share the same chopsticks or eat dinner with him. As Kat grew older, she learned how hepatitis B is actually spread and shared this information with the family. She also began doing outreach and education to teach other immigrants about how hepatitis B is contracted and what resources exist for screening and care.
Discussion Questions and Answers:
Why was Kat’s father not allowed to have dinner at the table with his family? (They believed that they could contract the hepatitis B virus by eating with the same utensils or being in close physical proximity with one another.)
If hepatitis B is not transmitted through casual contact, how does it spread? (The hepatitis B virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood, unprotected sex, contaminated or improperly sterilized needles, injection drug use, or mostly commonly from an infected mother to her newborn during pregnancy or childbirth.)
What reasons did Kat’s immigrant and refugee patients give for keeping silent about hepatitis B? (Kat’s patients were afraid of losing their jobs, even though the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employment discrimination based on someone’s hepatitis B status. They were also afraid of losing family relationships and friendships.)
Kat's story is available in English and Mandarin.