2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

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325260
Acceptability and feasibility of a hepatitis C virus infection treatment of patients receiving opiate substitution in a family medicine clinic


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Julie Loslier, M.D., M. Sc., FRCPC, Health planning, evaluation and research department, Public Health Direction of Monteregie, Longueuil, QC, Canada
  
Background There are about 12,000 IDU in the greater Montreal region and the estimated rate of seropositivity for the HCV among this population is 69%. The IDU population only rarely benefits from optimal treatment, most notably due to its duration, the high frequency of medical visits required and the side effects. The fact that these treatments are primarily offered in a hospital setting is an additional obstacle for a population.

Methods The objective of the project was to evaluate the acceptability and faisability of an organized treatment of hepatitis c virus (HCV) cases among patients being followed for substitution treatment for opiate dependence (TOD). The design used was a case series. Initial acceptance, adherence to treatment, satisfaction of patients and the medical team as well as the virological response rate were measured.

Results Sixteen patients on 23 who were invited to follow the treatment for the HCV agreed. The rate of adherence to treatment was 99%. Thirteen of the 16 patients completed the treatment. A sustained virological response rate was confirmed for 11 patients (69%). The patients and medical team saw clear benefits to this type of organization of services.

Conclusion This project demonstrated significant benefits to primary care treatment of HCV among patients receiving TOD.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Describe the obstacles of an optimal HCV treatment in the IDU population Discuss the avantages of of HCV treatment in a primary care setting, both for patients and medical team

Keyword(s): Hepatitis C, Health Care Delivery

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a public health specialist physician, I am particularly interested in substance abuse. I worked for five years in a medical center to prescribe substitution treatment to opiate dependent patients. As a professor at the University of Sherbrooke, I have conducted two research projets with injection drug users. I am also the medical director of a regional rehabilitation center.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2057.0: International perspectives on substance use and health outcomes