Opioid agonist treatment programs and hepatitis C virus elimination in Taiwan: Ways of expanding the care cascade in screening and treatment

IF 4.4 2区医学 Q1 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

International Journal of Drug Policy Pub Date : 2024-11-14 DOI:10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104658

Yu-Chu Ella Chung , Ching-Ing Tseng , Sheng-Chang Wang , Chieh-Liang Huang , Lian-Yu Chen , Raoh-Fang Pwu , Ching-Ching Claire Lin , An-Nie Chung , Jing-Shu Lin , Wei J. Chen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

One key population related to achieving the global goal of hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination is people who inject drugs (PWID). By surveying opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs nationwide in Taiwan, this study aimed to examine (1) the current status of HCV care cascade provision by OAT programs and (2) the opinions of the programs’ directors on integrating the HCV care cascade into OAT programs.

Methods

From September to November 2022, questionnaires were sent via administrative networks to case managers for information on daily operation and routine booking and to directors for information on the HCV care cascade of 185 OAT programs. The responses of the 125 OAT programs that provided information from both case managers and directors were included for subsequent analyses.

Results

Among the 125 OAT programs, 91 (73 %) offered HCV antibody testing, and 69 (55 %) offered HCV treatment services. The provision of HCV antibody testing was associated with being general hospital- or psychiatric hospital-based and having more care team personnel, whereas the provision of HCV treatment was associated with being general hospital-based. However, on-site HCV treatment was found to be rarely offered, and the future willingness to do so remained low.

Conclusion

Our survey revealed that the provision of HCV screening and treatment in OAT programs in Taiwan has substantial room for improvement. Increasing the number of care personnel for satellite-dispensing OAT programs is key to expanding the service for HCV screening, as more issues related to multidisciplinary medical resources are involved in the provision of HCV treatment. Our results point to some options that might help accomplish these goals.

查看原文本刊更多论文

台湾的阿片类受体激动剂治疗计划与丙型肝炎病毒的消除：扩大筛查和治疗护理级联的方法。

背景：注射吸毒者（PWID）是实现消除丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）这一全球目标的关键人群之一。本研究通过调查台湾全国的阿片类受体激动剂治疗（OAT）项目，旨在了解（1）OAT项目提供HCV级联护理的现状；（2）项目负责人对将HCV级联护理纳入OAT项目的看法：方法：2022年9月至11月，通过行政网络向185个OAT项目的个案经理发送了调查问卷，以了解其日常运作和例行预约的情况，并向项目主任发送了调查问卷，以了解其HCV级联护理的情况。在随后的分析中，纳入了同时向个案经理和主任提供信息的 125 个 OAT 项目的答复：在 125 个 OAT 项目中，91 个（73%）提供了 HCV 抗体检测，69 个（55%）提供了 HCV 治疗服务。提供 HCV 抗体检测与综合医院或精神病院以及拥有更多护理团队人员有关，而提供 HCV 治疗则与综合医院有关。然而，现场 HCV 治疗很少提供，而且未来提供治疗的意愿仍然很低：我们的调查显示，在台湾，OAT 项目中提供的 HCV 筛查和治疗还有很大的改进空间。增加卫星配药 OAT 项目的护理人员数量是扩大 HCV 筛查服务的关键，因为在提供 HCV 治疗时会涉及更多与多学科医疗资源相关的问题。我们的研究结果指出了一些有助于实现这些目标的方案。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Drug Policy SUBSTANCE ABUSE-

CiteScore

7.80

自引率

11.40%

发文量

307

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Drug Policy provides a forum for the dissemination of current research, reviews, debate, and critical analysis on drug use and drug policy in a global context. It seeks to publish material on the social, political, legal, and health contexts of psychoactive substance use, both licit and illicit. The journal is particularly concerned to explore the effects of drug policy and practice on drug-using behaviour and its health and social consequences. It is the policy of the journal to represent a wide range of material on drug-related matters from around the world.