Cooperative Agreement to Develop, Implement, and Evaluate Viral Hepatitis and Training

Active drug injectors are at high risk for contracting and transmitting HCV. Very few culturally-specific tools have been developed to improve outcomes in this population. We hypothesize that measurable improvements in HCV testing rates, hepatitis A and B vaccination rates, and knowledge, attitudes, and motivations toward behavior change may be elicited by such a curriculum.

In this study, we will investigate the impact of a short HCV education video on active drug injectors at a syringe exchange program. Subjects will be enrolled in one of two cohorts: a usual-care cohort, which will receive the program's standard HCV counseling; vs an intervention cohort, which will view the education video. Subjects will undergo written testing for knowledge, attitudes about transmission behaviors, and motivations toward behavior change before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, 4 weeks after the intervention, and 12 weeks after the intervention. Additionally, we will measure and compare the rates of HCV testing and HAV/HBV vaccinations before and at the end of the 12 week time point in both cohorts.