Community-based HCV screening: knowledge and attitudes in a high risk urban population.
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BACKGROUND: In an attempt to curtail the rising morbidity and mortality from undiagnosed HCV (hepatitis C virus) in the United States, screening guidelines have been expanded to high-risk individuals and persons born 1945-1965. Community-based screening may be one strategy in which to reach such persons; however, the acceptance of HCV testing, when many high-risk individuals may not have access to HCV specific medications, remains unknown. METHODS: We set out to assess attitudes about HCV screening and knowledge about HCV disease at several community-based testing sites that serve high-risk populations. This assessment was paired with a brief HCV educational intervention, followed by post-education evaluation. RESULTS: Participants (nā=ā140) were surveyed at five sites; two homeless shelters, two drug rehabilitation centers, and a women's "drop-in" center. Personal acceptance of HCV testing was almost unanimous, and 90% of participants reported that they would still want to be tested even if they were unable to receive HCV treatment. Baseline hepatitis C knowledge was poor; however, the brief educational intervention significantly improved knowledge and increased acceptability of testing when medical access issues were explicitly stated. CONCLUSIONS: Despite inconsistencies in access to care and treatment, high-risk communities want to know their HCV status. Though baseline HCV knowledge was poor in this population, a brief on-site educational intervention improved both knowledge and acceptability of HCV testing and care. These data support the establishment of programs that utilize community-based screening, and also provide initial evidence for acceptance of the implementation of the recently expanded screening guidelines among marginalized communities.
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Norton, Brianna L, Corrine I Voils, Sarah H Timberlake, Emily J Hecker, Neela D Goswami, Kim M Huffman, Anneka Landgraf, Susanna Naggie, et al. (2014). Community-based HCV screening: knowledge and attitudes in a high risk urban population. BMC Infect Dis, 14. p. 74. 10.1186/1471-2334-14-74 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11641.
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Kim Marie Huffman
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