TY - JOUR
KW - Adult
KW - Antiviral Agents/adverse effects/therapeutic use
KW - Australia
KW - Continuity of Patient Care
KW - Female
KW - Health Services Accessibility
KW - Hepatitis C/complications/drug therapy/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Interferons/adverse effects
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Opiate Substitution Treatment
KW - Patient Acceptance of Health Care
KW - Substance Abuse, Intravenous/complications/drug therapy/psychology
KW - Veins/injuries
AU - A. Madden
AU - M. Hopwood
AU - J. Neale
AU - C. Treloar
A1 - 
AB - Recent advances in the efficacy and tolerability of hepatitis C treatments and the introduction of a universal access scheme for the new Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) therapies in March 2016, has resulted in a rapid increase in the uptake of hepatitis C treatment in Australia. Despite these positive developments, recent data suggest a plateauing of treatment numbers, indicating that more work may need to be done to identify and address ongoing barriers to hepatitis C treatment access and uptake. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the ongoing barriers to DAA therapies, with a focus on people who inject drugs. The paper draws on participant interview data from a qualitative research study based on a participatory research design that included a peer researcher with direct experience of both hepatitis C DAA treatment and injecting drug use at all stages of the research process. The study's findings show that residual barriers to DAA treatment exist at personal, provider and system levels and include poor venous access, DAA treatments not considered 'core-business' by opioid substitution treatment (OST) providers, and patients having to manage multiple health and social priorities that interfere with keeping medical appointments such as childcare and poor access to transport services. Further, efforts to increase access to and uptake of DAA hepatitis C treatment over time will require a focus on reducing stigma and discrimination towards people who inject drugs as this remains as a major barrier to care for many people.
BT - PloS one
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use
CP - 11
CY - United States
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0207226
IS - 11
JF - PloS one
N2 - Recent advances in the efficacy and tolerability of hepatitis C treatments and the introduction of a universal access scheme for the new Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) therapies in March 2016, has resulted in a rapid increase in the uptake of hepatitis C treatment in Australia. Despite these positive developments, recent data suggest a plateauing of treatment numbers, indicating that more work may need to be done to identify and address ongoing barriers to hepatitis C treatment access and uptake. This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the ongoing barriers to DAA therapies, with a focus on people who inject drugs. The paper draws on participant interview data from a qualitative research study based on a participatory research design that included a peer researcher with direct experience of both hepatitis C DAA treatment and injecting drug use at all stages of the research process. The study's findings show that residual barriers to DAA treatment exist at personal, provider and system levels and include poor venous access, DAA treatments not considered 'core-business' by opioid substitution treatment (OST) providers, and patients having to manage multiple health and social priorities that interfere with keeping medical appointments such as childcare and poor access to transport services. Further, efforts to increase access to and uptake of DAA hepatitis C treatment over time will require a focus on reducing stigma and discrimination towards people who inject drugs as this remains as a major barrier to care for many people.
PP - United States
PY - 2018
SN - 1932-6203; 1932-6203
T1 - Beyond interferon side effects: What residual barriers exist to DAA hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs?
T2 - PloS one
TI - Beyond interferon side effects: What residual barriers exist to DAA hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs?
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use
U2 - 30500863
U3 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0207226
VL - 13
VO - 1932-6203; 1932-6203
Y1 - 2018
ER -