Risk behaviours of homeless people who inject drugs during an outbreak of hepatitis C, Northern Ireland, 2016‐2017

Maisa, Anna; Semple, Susan J.; Griffiths, Alison; Ngui, Siew Lin; Verlander, Neville Q.; McCaughey, Conall; Doherty, Lorraine; Jessop, Lucy

doi:10.1111/jvh.13184

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…longer duration of injection, use of shared injecting equipment, living in an urban area, history of arrest and more. 2,[18][19][20] In our study we did not find an association between participant's age or gender to HCV positivity, nor between duration of injection and HCV exposure.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 82%

“…This population is under-investigated worldwide due to challenging outreach while most of the existing data are based on screening that is limited to prisoners and opioid substitution therapy participants. 1 , 2 , 16 - 18 , 21 Although recruitment of PWUDs to participate in medical research is known to be challenging, 22 the recruitment rate in our study was relatively high (40%) among this population, owing to professional and friendly communication by IATF volunteers and social workers. However, selection bias have be addressed, as further discussed in study limitation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…15 Thus, lack of tolerable and effective treatment is currently not a barrier to HCV eradication. Current barriers to achieving ambitious targets for global HCV control include low awareness of infection among key populations such as PWUD, [16][17][18][19][20] low treatment-seeking behavior among PWUD, lack of access to care, or low compliance with treatment regimens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hepatitis C Virus Prevalence, Medical Status Awareness and Treatment Engagement among Homeless People Who use Drugs: Results of a Street Outreach Study

et al. 2022

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Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a primary health concern among people who use drugs (PWUDs). Homeless PWUDs that constitute a key population for HCV transmission remain underrepresented in many surveys. Objectives: We performed a proactive street outreach to evaluate HCV infection prevalence among homeless PWUDs in Tel Aviv, identify risk factors associated with HCV infection, awareness of disease status and linkage to care rate. Results: Thirty-eight percent of approached PWUD were willing to participate in the study. Out of 53 subjects who got tested for anti HCV by rapid test, 29 (54.72%) had a positive result, 20 of 29 anti-HCV positive (69%) patients had positive HCV PCR. Risk factors were investigated using structured questionnaires. Heroin use was reported significantly more frequently in the HCV-positive group ( P = .05, CI 95%), whereas other established risk factors did not reach significance in our cohort. While 21 of 29 (72%) HCV-positive participants were aware of their condition, only 4 of 21 (19%) received treatment in the past, and 2 of 4 (50%) failed to achieve treatment goals, as assessed by HCV PCR. Conclusions: Our data indicate a high prevalence of HCV infection among homeless PWUDs. Importantly, despite relatively high awareness of HCV status in this population, we found strikingly low access to care. These findings motivate novel interventional approaches targeted at improving patient access, and compliance among homeless PWUDs, in an effort to reduce HCV transmission.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hepatitis C Virus Prevalence, Medical Status Awareness and Treatment Engagement among Homeless People Who use Drugs: Results of a Street Outreach Study

et al. 2022

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Effects of messaging on public support for drug consumption rooms in scotland, UK

Sumnall

Atkinson

Trayner

et al. 2020

International Journal of Drug Policy

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BackgroundThere is evidence to suggest that medically supervised drug consumption rooms (DCRs) may form part of responses to reduce drug-related harm. Although DCRs have been established globally, they are perceived by some to be a controversial approach in the UK, and Government has repeatedly rejected proposals to establish one in Glasgow, Scotland. As public support is an important component of policy development and enactment, we sought to investigate the effects of different types of message framing on public support for DCR. MethodsWe undertook a cross-sectional online study with a randomised design, conducted with a nationally representative sample. Participants were randomised to one of six message conditions comprising combinations of four components. All conditions included i) a basic description of a DCR, and conditions included combinations of ii) factual information; iii) preemptive refutation of common public concerns about DCR; and/or iv) a sympathetic narrative describing a mother whose son died from a heroin overdose. After reading each message, participants completed a bespoke measure assessing support for DCR. Data were analysed using ANCOVA. ResultsComplete data were obtained from 1591 participants (50.3% Female; mean age 44.9 ± 16.1 years). Compared to reading a basic description of DCR alone, there was greater support for DCR in participants receiving the refutation (p < .001); sympathetic + factual (p < .05); and sympathetic + factual + refutation (p < .001) message conditions. Presenting factual or sympathetic messages alone were not associated with increased support. ConclusionOur findings suggest that public support for DCRs is not improved through communication of factual statements outlining potential benefits of the intervention alone. Advocates seeking to foster public support, and thus influence policy making, should also consider communication campaigns that address common concerns that the public might have about DCRs, and present the intervention in relation to potential benefits that they hold for people indirectly affected by drug-related harm.

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Implementation and evaluation of an educational intervention for safer injection in people who inject drugs in Europe: a multi-country mixed-methods study

Roux

Donadille

Magen

et al. 2021

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Risk behaviours of homeless people who inject drugs during an outbreak of hepatitis C, Northern Ireland, 2016‐2017

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Hepatitis C Virus Prevalence, Medical Status Awareness and Treatment Engagement among Homeless People Who use Drugs: Results of a Street Outreach Study

Hepatitis C Virus Prevalence, Medical Status Awareness and Treatment Engagement among Homeless People Who use Drugs: Results of a Street Outreach Study

Effects of messaging on public support for drug consumption rooms in scotland, UK

Implementation and evaluation of an educational intervention for safer injection in people who inject drugs in Europe: a multi-country mixed-methods study

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