Barriers and facilitators of hepatitis C treatment uptake among people who inject drugs enrolled in opioid treatment programs in Baltimore

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health issue among people who inject drugs (PWID) with prevalence of 50 –80% in the United States. Effective, simple, oral direct acting agents (DAA) of short duration with minimal side effects have been associated with cure rates > 95%. However, HCV treatment uptake among PWID remains low. We characterized the HCV care continuum, HCV treatment knowledge, as well as barriers and facilitators to HCV treatment uptake among PWID enrolled in two opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Source: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research