Reinfection risk of Hepatitis C in people who inject drugs VERSION 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding reinfection risk of Hepatitis C in people who inject drugs: A Qualitative Study
IRAS ID
310181
Contact name
Katie Heslop
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Stirling
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Hepatitis C (HCV) is a virus which causes long term damage to liver function if untreated (NHS, 2021). 90% of Hepatitis C infections in Scotland are caused by injecting drug use (Hutchinson et al., 2015). The provision of HCV treatment in NHS Tayside has increased over recent years with novel treatment pathways also being established. These initiatives included the introduction of the ADVANCE (A Direct obserVed therApy versus fortNightly CollEction) HCV study (Inglis et al., 2019). The ADVANCE trial investigated the effectiveness of delivering directly acting antiviral treatments (DAA) in injecting equipment provision sites (IEPS) to people who inject drugs (PWID) with Hepatitis C. Results indicated that over 90% of participants completed treatment and were cured of Hepatitis C.
Despite this, there are cases of reinfection amongst those who have previously participated successfully in treatment. Less is known about these individuals and the psychological mechanisms underpinning reinfection risk. This project aims to gain an improved understanding of the psychosocial factors associated with reinfection of HCV in PWID, living in Tayside, after successful HCV treatment by qualitatively exploring the lived experience of participants.
An interview lasting between 30 and 60 minutes will be conducted with participants who received successful treatment but have become reinfected with Hepatitis C. An interview will also be conducted with a comparison group consisting of participants who received successful treatment but have not become reinfected. Participants will be recruited at the needle exchange sites in Tayside and undergo an interview exploring their experiences of having HCV, treatment, injecting sharing behaviour, mental health and controlling cravings.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
22/WA/0085
Date of REC Opinion
10 May 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion