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Care Navigation Increases Initiation of Hepatitis C Treatment After Release From Prison in a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial: The C-LINK Study.

Papaluca T, Craigie A, McDonald L, Edwards A, Winter R, Hoang A, Pappas A, Waldron A, McCoy K, Stoove M, Doyle J, Hellard M, Holmes J, MacIsaac M, Desmond P, Iser D, Thompson AJ

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  • Journal Open forum infectious diseases

  • Published 28 Jul 2022

  • Volume 9

  • ISSUE 8

  • Pagination ofac350

  • DOI 10.1093/ofid/ofac350

Abstract

Prison-based hepatitis C treatment is safe and effective; however, many individuals are released untreated due to time or resource constraints. On community re-entry, individuals face a number of immediate competing priorities, and in this context, linkage to hepatitis C care is low. Interventions targeted at improving healthcare continuity after prison release have yielded positive outcomes for other health diagnoses; however, data regarding hepatitis C transitional care are limited.

We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing a hepatitis C care navigator intervention with standard of care for individuals released from prison with untreated hepatitis C infection. The primary outcome was prescription of hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals (DAA) within 6 months of release.

 = .049).

Care navigation increased hepatitis C treatment uptake among untreated individuals released from prison. Public policy should support similar models of care to promote treatment in this high-risk population. Such an approach will help achieve hepatitis C elimination as a public health threat.