2024/12/01
2024年著作
林青青: Opioid agonist treatment programs and hepatitis C virus elimination in Taiwan: Ways of expanding the care cascade in screening and treatment
AUTHOR
Yu-Chu Ella Chung, Ching-Ing Tseng, Sheng-Chang Wang, Chieh-Liang Huang, Lian-Yu Chen, Raoh-Fang Pwu, Ching-Ching Claire Lin (本所專任教師 林青青助理教授), An-Nie Chung, Jing-Shu Lin, Wei J. Chen ✉️
JOURNAL International Journal of Drug Policy
PUBLISHED 2024.12.01
Highlights
- Taiwan is committed to achieving the elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2025.
- Opioid clinics offering HCV antibody testing and treatment was 73 % and 55 %, respectively.
- On-site HCV treatment is rarely offered, and the future willingness to do so is low.
- Multidisciplinary medical resources are involved in the provision of HCV treatment.
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.
KEYWORDS
Opioid agonist treatmentHepatitis C virusPeople who inject drugsHCV antibody testingHCV treatmentCare cascade
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