Developing a GP-led hepatitis C treatment pathway v.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimising hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs: Developing a GP-led patient pathway
IRAS ID
261262
Contact name
David Whiteley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Edinburgh Napier University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
The hepatitis C virus is a serious infection that attacks the liver, and is a leading cause of death and illness worldwide. In Scotland, approximately 37,000 people are infected, with over 85% of these infections in people who inject, or have injected drugs. Treatment for hepatitis C is simple, tolerable and effective, however, treatment uptake is estimated at only 7%. This means that tens of thousands of people are suffering unnecessarily. The reasons for such low uptake relate to multiple interruptions in the journey through care, not least the difficulty of linking those diagnosed with hepatitis C into treatment. One strategy to improve this is the movement of hepatitis C treatment away from traditional specialist centres, and into primary care. This has been achieved successfully elsewhere in the world in other health care systems. In the proposed research we will work with GPs, service users and others to 1) identify the key constituents of GP-led hepatitis C treatment, and 2) develop an acceptable and practicable GP-led treatment pathway for people who inject drugs in Scotland. Without a significant increase in treatment uptake among people who inject drugs, the burden of hepatitis C is unlikely to reduce substantially in the coming years.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
19/WS/0068
Date of REC Opinion
29 May 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion