The initial brainstorm session for my creative project did not bring me to discover my eventual topic. I couldn’t quite put my finger on an idea that worked best for me, for the reason that I began working with the medium topic and course question. Working with those two subjects weren’t leading me to a functional topic, so I decided to restructure my process and start with thinking about significant issues going on in our society today, (i.e. the rapid ascend of technology, awareness of major diseases, etc.) Thinking about what diseases I was familiar with, I remembered taking a glimpse of a Hepatitis B billboard campaign right around the block from where I live; this is how the topic of my project “Hepatitis B Awareness” unfolded.
Once I concluded that hepatitis B was going to be my topic, finding information and resources for the hepatitis B virus was fairly easy, given that our society is more pro-health than ever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was one of the organizations that provided me with hepatitis B information such as: how it affects the liver, how you can or can’t get it, how you can treat or prevent it, what types there are, the symptoms, how fast you can get it, how you can get tested for it, and the statistics all the way from the 1980’s to present-day. Though, the statistical information that all my resources provided me with were fluctuant between each other, the numbers were all in the same ballpark; therefore, I was able to come up with accurate estimations. Factual information from CDC provided my essay with a back bone, steered me in the right direction and helped give my essay some fluff. My essay now gives the reader information about the reality of having the hepatitis B disease, its dreadfulness, and how they can take action.
In addition to the hepatitis B information acknowledged in my essay, I created a pamphlet in which readers can effortlessly learn about hepatitis B and contact local clinics to get help. Similar pamphlets are available through many programs around the nation; especially organizations that help teens overcome sexual transmitted diseases. To name a few, the Sexually Transmitted Disease Service of Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety of University of New Hampshire, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all have hepatitis B pamphlets available to everyone who wishes to be informed.