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Continuum of care in hepatitis C screening and treatment: a survey among clients of low-threshold programs for people who use drugs
Věžníková, Martina ; Mravčík, Viktor (advisor) ; Janíková, Barbara (referee)
Background: Half of the people with hepatitis C virus infection in the Czech Republic are injecting drug users. Low-threshold harm reduction-based treatment programs are an important pillar in the prevention and elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV);and for the continuity of care, it is essential to actively search for people with the infection (high rate of testing) and to follow up with further diagnosis and treatment.Identifying and responding to client barriers is necessary to maintain the continuum of care. Objectives: Theaim of the bachelor thesis was to describe the continuum of care in case of hepatitis C virus in clients of an outpatient and outreach programme for substance abusers in a low-threshold centre in Jihlava, from anti-HCV antibody screening to treatment entry and completion, and to describe the factors that influence the continuum of care. Methods: In June and July 2022, aquantitative analysis of existing data was conductedamong clients of a low-threshold facility for drug users in Jihlava. For the monitored period from 2017 to 2021, 243 clients of the outpatient program and 171 clients of the outreach program were included in the research. The obtained data were analysed in Microsoft Excel using descriptive statistics. Results: The research shows that 81 (33 %) clients of the...
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Continuum of care in HCV treatment among clients of low-threshold programmes for PWUDs in Prague
Havlíková, Petra ; Mravčík, Viktor (advisor) ; Janíková, Barbara (referee)
Background: Viral hepatitis C (HCV) represents a major public health problem worldwide and also in the Czech Republic. There are as many as 80,000 people have been living with chronic HCV in Czechia since 2015, most of them are/were drug addicts who have been infected by contaminated syringes. Global and national efforts to eliminate HCV are currently underway, focusing primarily on improving the quality of treatment continuity (sustainability, uninterrupted treatment) which involves ensuring the availability of testing for all patients, patients' involvement in their own treatment, sustaining treatment, achieving a response rate and the necessary follow-up care. Objective: To describe the HCV continuum of care in people who inject drugs (mapping testing rate, treatment uptake and treatment completion), and to describe the factors that affect this process. Based on the collected data, to formulate recommendations for addiction care professionals in order to improve HCV continuum of care. Methodology: A questionnaire survey among clients of low-threshold centres in Prague was carried out. The convenient sample consisted of a total of 60 respondents, 20 from each of the three centres. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data collection was realised in August 2019. Results: Out of the 60...
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