Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Hepatitis C Survey on Stigma, Lack of Awareness and Not Being Tested




The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Preventive Services Task Force recommend that all people born from 1945 through 1965 to be tested for hepatitis C. A serious liver disease which causes cirrhosis, liver cancer and is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States, killing more than 15,000 Americans each year. More than 75 percent of the estimated 3 million US citizens with HCV are baby boomers. Officials reported the screening strategy will identify over 800,000 people infected with the virus, prevent 100,000 cases of cirrhosis - over 50,000 cases of liver cancer, and save more than 120,000 lives.

A recent survey by Wakefield Research and funded by Roche/Genentech reported on the lack of HCV awareness, stigma, testing and misconceptions about the disease in Miami, Washington DC and Philadelphia. The survey is available online this week at NATAP.

As an example one of the fourteen online questions asked in the survey.


Continue reading @ NATAP

In the spring Jules Levin reported on an interesting study which was presented at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) this May in Orlando, Florida; Key Drivers and Barriers to Treatment Initiation and Adherence in Individuals with Hepatitis C, also available at NATAP 

As seen below in figure 1, the objective of this study was to understand factors that motivate or provide barriers to individuals initiating and adhering to IFN-based HCV treatment.



View full results of the study provided by NATAP

Related
August 2013
Hey Grandma, Let's Get You Checked for Hep C

July 2013
Reflex RNA testing should follow a positive HCV antibody test

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