Abstract
BackgroundThe advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs)—a form of hepatitis C (HCV) treatment associated with shorter treatment course and greater efficacy—offers an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate HCV, but only if care delivery systems are developed to extend treatment to people who inject drugs (PWID). To support the design of a community-pharmacy program, we explored perspectives of PWID with chronic HCV with regard to barriers, motivators, preferences, and prior experiences related to HCV treatment and pharmacists.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with people living with HCV who reported active injection drug use. Participants were recruited from local community service and clinical organizations in the Seattle, Washington region, and focus groups and interviews were conducted in-person or via phone/video-conference. Rapid Assessment Process was used to analyze qualitative data. Dual coders used structured templates to summarize findings and engaged in iterative review to identify themes.ResultsAmong the 40 participants, 65% were male, 52.5% were white, and 80% were not stably housed. On average, participants had been injecting drugs for 14 years and living with HCV for 6 years. Analyses revealed 3 themes: (1) limited knowledge regarding HCV and DAA treatments; (2) barriers/motivators for receiving treatment included fear of side effects, prior stigmatizing behaviors from physicians, and desire to protect relatives and the PWID community from HCV transmission; and (3) preferences for HCV care delivery, including a need for person-centered, low-barrier, and collaborative treatment integrated with other care (e.g. primary care and addiction treatment) for PWID. Participants were generally receptive to a community-pharmacy model for HCV treatment, but prior interactions with pharmacists were mixed and there were some concerns expressed that care delivered by pharmacists would not be equivalent to that of physicians.ConclusionsEven in the direct-acting antivirals era, people who inject drugs still face major barriers to hepatitis C treatment which may be reduced by providing low-barrier points of access for care through pharmacists. Key recommendations for community-pharmacy design included providing care team training to reduce stigma and ensuring care team structures and culture target PWID-specific needs for education and engagement.
Highlights
As a consequence of a national epidemic of opioid use disorders and injection drug use, including barriers to accessing needed harm reduction services, the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been rising in parts of the world [1,2,3]
Recruitment, and eligiblity Participants were recruited at syringe service programs, addiction treatment programs, and a community based non-profit organization that provides services for persons with and at risk for HCV, as well as through flyers advertised at public locations frequented by people who inject drugs (PWID) experiencing housing instability
The median duration of injecting drugs was 12 years (IQR: 5, 18), while the median length of time participants were aware of their HCV diagnosis was 2 years (IQR: 6 months, 7 years)
Summary
As a consequence of a national epidemic of opioid use disorders and injection drug use, including barriers to accessing needed harm reduction services, the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been rising in parts of the world [1,2,3]. Injection drug use is the primary mode of HCV transmission, accounting for the majority of new infections in the United States (U.S.) [1,2,3] and other developed countries [4]. The advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs)—a form of hepatitis C (HCV) treatment associated with shorter treatment course and greater efficacy—offers an unprecedented opportunity to eliminate HCV, but only if care delivery systems are developed to extend treatment to people who inject drugs (PWID). To support the design of a community-pharmacy program, we explored perspectives of PWID with chronic HCV with regard to barriers, motivators, preferences, and prior experiences related to HCV treatment and pharmacists
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