Hepatitis C Screening in Selected Social Reintegration Facilities in Eastern Slovakia

Abstract

Introduction: The World Health Organization has adopted a global strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis as a serious public health threat by 2030. Worldwide, intravenous drug users are the most risky group with a high prevalence of viral hepatitis C. Often they concurrently suffer from alcoholic liver disease. Study participants: Hepatitis C screening took place between July and October 2018. We tested a total of 410 clients (298 males, 112 females). The average age of tested men was 44.2 years: the average age of women was 40.1 years. Methods: To determinate the hepatitis C antibodies (antiHCV), we used a test for rapid diagnostics of Hepatitis C (Liver HCV disease test – Voyage). At the same time, we gave the clients a questionnaire of our own design with questions that focused on the risk factors of viral hepatitis as well as on the reasons for their arrival to the social reintegration facility. Results: Out of the total of 410 tested clients, 394 clients were antiHCV negative; 16 (4.1%) were antiHCV positive. Due to the positive antiHCV results, we performed an additional examination - a determination of HCV RNA. HCV RNA positivity was confirmed in 4 clients (0.9%). A total of 46 clients (11.2%) confirmed intravenous drug use, 119 clients (29%) had a tattoo. In the questionnaire, clients often mentioned several risk factors that had been the reason for their arrival at the social reintegration facility, alcohol being the most commonly mentioned: 183/410 (44.6%). Conclusions: Our screening project is prospective (2018-2019). The benefit of the project lies in: continuous education of social reintegration facilities clients; capturing specific persons suffering from CHC infection and in implementing secondary prevention.

Journal

Title: Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention

Abbreviated Title: cswhi

Publisher: Journal of Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention

ISSN (Print): 2222386X

ISSN (Electronic): 20769741

Publication date Created: July 30 2019

Publication date Created: June 28 2019

Publication date (Print): July 30 2019

Publication date (Electronic): June 28 2019

Volume: 10

Issue: 2

Pages: 25-31

Article

DOI: 10.22359/cswhi_10_2_04

Copyright statement: © 2019

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Product

Self URI (journal page): http://www.clinicalsocialwork.eu/

Self URI (article page): https://clinicalsocialwork.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/4-Belovicova.pdf