HCV infection status and care seeking among people living with HIV who use drugs in Vietnam

Abstract

HCV co-infection is widespread among people living with HIV who use drugs (PLHWUD). However, HCV testing was inconsistently implemented among PLHWUD. The low infection awareness and mental health challenges together impede PLHWUD's treatment-seeking. The study used baseline data of a randomized controlled trial conducted in Vietnam. HCV infection status was collected through self-report and medical record review. A linear mixed-effects regression model was used to examine the relationships between PLHWUD's perceived barriers to seeking healthcare, their depressive symptoms, and the consistencies in HCV status reports. Among the 181 PLHWUD in the study, one-third (64; 35.4%) had inconsistent self-reports and medical records of HIV infection status. The agreement between the two records was fair (Kappa statistics = 0.43). PLHWUD with consistent HCV infection confirmed by both medical records and self-reports perceived lower levels of healthcare-seeking barriers than those with discrepant HCV reports (estimated difference = −1.59, SE = 0.71, P = 0.027). Depressive symptoms were significantly correlated with healthcare-seeking barriers among those with discrepant HCV results (estimate = 0.17, SE = 0.06, P = 0.007). There is an urgent need to extend HCV screening efforts and increase HCV awareness among PLHWUD. Explicit HCV result notification and integrated mental health support are recommended to facilitate patients' access to needed care.

AIDSImpact 2019 special issue – Promises to keep and miles to go …

“…A paper on ageing with HIV (O'Brien et al, 2020) explored the lessons from rehabilitation in chronic disease to the healthy ageing with HIV population. Co-morbidities and syndemics such as Hepatitis C among men, transwomen and transmen (Grov et al, 2020), and HCV among people with HIV who use drugs in Vietnam (Li et al, 2020a) are important to consider. As people age with HIV, multiple comorbidities need to be understood.…”