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      From peer-based to peer-led: redefining the role of peers across the hepatitis C care pathway: HepCare Europe

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          Abstract

          Background

          HCV infection disproportionately affects underserved populations such as homeless individuals, people who inject drugs and prison populations. Peer advocacy can enable active engagement with healthcare services and increase the likelihood of favourable treatment outcomes.

          Objectives

          This observational study aims to assess the burden of disease in these underserved populations and describe the role of peer support in linking these individuals to specialist treatment services.

          Methods

          Services were identified if they had a high proportion of individuals with risk factors for HCV, such as injecting drug use or homelessness. Individuals were screened for HCV using point-of-care tests and a portable FibroScan. All positive cases received peer support for linkage to specialist care. Information was gathered on risk factors, demographics and follow-up information regarding linkage to care and treatment outcomes.

          Results

          A total of 461 individuals were screened, of which 197 (42.7%) were chronically infected with HCV. Referral was made to secondary care for 176 (89.3%) and all received peer support, with 104 (52.8%) individuals engaged with treatment centres. Of these, 89 (85.6%) started treatment and 76 (85.4%) had a favourable outcome. Factors associated with not being approved for treatment were recent homelessness, younger age and current crack cocaine injecting.

          Conclusions

          Highly trained peer support workers working as part of a specialist outreach clinical team help to identify a high proportion of individuals exposed to HCV, achieve high rates of engagement with treatment services and maintain high rates of treatment success amongst a population with complex needs.

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          Most cited references38

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          Morbidity and mortality in homeless individuals, prisoners, sex workers, and individuals with substance use disorders in high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

          Summary Background Inclusion health focuses on people in extremely poor health due to poverty, marginalisation, and multimorbidity. We aimed to review morbidity and mortality data on four overlapping populations who experience considerable social exclusion: homeless populations, individuals with substance use disorders, sex workers, and imprisoned individuals. Methods For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for studies published between Jan 1, 2005, and Oct 1, 2015. We included only systematic reviews, meta-analyses, interventional studies, and observational studies that had morbidity and mortality outcomes, were published in English, from high-income countries, and were done in populations with a history of homelessness, imprisonment, sex work, or substance use disorder (excluding cannabis and alcohol use). Studies with only perinatal outcomes and studies of individuals with a specific health condition or those recruited from intensive care or high dependency hospital units were excluded. We screened studies using systematic review software and extracted data from published reports. Primary outcomes were measures of morbidity (prevalence or incidence) and mortality (standardised mortality ratios [SMRs] and mortality rates). Summary estimates were calculated using a random effects model. Findings Our search identified 7946 articles, of which 337 studies were included for analysis. All-cause standardised mortality ratios were significantly increased in 91 (99%) of 92 extracted datapoints and were 11·86 (95% CI 10·42–13·30; I 2=94·1%) in female individuals and 7·88 (7·03–8·74; I 2=99·1%) in men. Summary SMR estimates for the International Classification of Diseases disease categories with two or more included datapoints were highest for deaths due to injury, poisoning, and other external causes, in both men (7·89; 95% CI 6·40–9·37; I 2=98·1%) and women (18·72; 13·73–23·71; I 2=91·5%). Disease prevalence was consistently raised across the following categories: infections (eg, highest reported was 90% for hepatitis C, 67 [65%] of 103 individuals for hepatitis B, and 133 [51%] of 263 individuals for latent tuberculosis infection), mental health (eg, highest reported was 9 [4%] of 227 individuals for schizophrenia), cardiovascular conditions (eg, highest reported was 32 [13%] of 247 individuals for coronary heart disease), and respiratory conditions (eg, highest reported was 9 [26%] of 35 individuals for asthma). Interpretation Our study shows that homeless populations, individuals with substance use disorders, sex workers, and imprisoned individuals experience extreme health inequities across a wide range of health conditions, with the relative effect of exclusion being greater in female individuals than male individuals. The high heterogeneity between studies should be explored further using improved data collection in population subgroups. The extreme health inequity identified demands intensive cross-sectoral policy and service action to prevent exclusion and improve health outcomes in individuals who are already marginalised. Funding Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research, NHS England, NHS Research Scotland Scottish Senior Clinical Fellowship, Medical Research Council, Chief Scientist Office, and the Central and North West London NHS Trust.
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            Limited uptake of hepatitis C treatment among injection drug users.

            We characterized hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment knowledge, experience and barriers in a cohort of community-based injection drug users (IDUs) in Baltimore, MD. In 2005, a questionnaire on HCV treatment knowledge, experience and barriers was administered to HCV-infected IDUs. Self-reported treatment was confirmed from medical records. Of 597 participants, 71% were male, 95% African-American, 31% HIV co-infected and 94% were infected with HCV genotype 1; 70% were aware that treatment was available, but only 22% understood that HCV could be cured. Of 418 who had heard of treatment, 86 (21%) reported an evaluation by a provider that included a discussion of treatment of whom 30 refused treatment, 20 deferred and 36 reported initiating treatment (6% overall). The most common reasons for refusal were related to treatment-related perceptions and a low perceived need of treatment. Compared to those who had discussed treatment with their provider, those who had not were more likely to be injecting drugs, less likely to have health insurance, and less knowledgeable about treatment. Low HCV treatment effectiveness was observed in this IDU population. Comprehensive integrated care strategies that incorporate education, case-management and peer support are needed to improve care and treatment of HCV-infected IDUs.
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              The Natural History of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection

              Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as the most common indication for liver transplantation in many countries. Although the incidence of hepatitis C infection has dramatically decreased during the past decade, the worldwide reservoir of chronically infected persons is estimated at 170 million, or 3% of the global population. There is much controversy surrounding the natural history of hepatitis C infection. The rate of chronic HCV infection is affected by a person's age, gender, race, and viral immune response. Approximately 75%-85% of HCV-infected persons will progress to chronic HCV infection, and are at risk for the development of extrahepatic manifestations, compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The rate of progression to cirrhosis is highly variable, and is influenced by several factors, including the amount of alcohol consumption, age of initial HCV infection, degree of inflammation and fibrosis on liver biopsy, HIV and HBV coinfection, and comordid conditions. An estimated 10%-15% of HCV-infected persons will advance to cirrhosis within the first 20 years. Persons with cirrhosis are at increased risk of developing HCC. An understanding of the natural history of hepatitis C is essential to effectively manage, treat, and counsel individuals with HCV infection.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                J Antimicrob Chemother
                J. Antimicrob. Chemother
                jac
                Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
                Oxford University Press
                0305-7453
                1460-2091
                November 2019
                29 November 2019
                29 November 2019
                : 74
                : Suppl 5 , HepCare Europe: towards integrated hepatitis C care in the European Union
                : v17-v23
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Institute of Global Health, University College London , London, UK
                [2 ] Find and Treat, University College London Hospitals NHS Trust , London, UK
                [3 ] Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , Madrid, Spain
                [4 ] Institute of Health Informatics, University College London , London, UK
                [5 ] Groundswell , London, UK
                [6 ] Collaborative Centre for Inclusion Health, UCL , London, UK
                Author notes
                Corresponding author. E-mail: j.surey@ 123456ucl.ac.uk
                Article
                dkz452
                10.1093/jac/dkz452
                6883389
                31782500
                8c2f4797-45bb-4af1-8b90-4b7dd2b3c455
                © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com

                History
                Page count
                Pages: 7
                Funding
                Funded by: European Commission 10.13039/501100000780
                Funded by: EU Third Health Programme
                Award ID: 709844
                Funded by: University College London 10.13039/501100000765
                Funded by: University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
                Categories
                Supplement Papers

                Oncology & Radiotherapy
                Oncology & Radiotherapy

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