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

Injection drug users are at high risk for contracting hepatitis C (HCV). Very few culturally-specific educational tools have been developed to improve outcomes in this population. We hypothesize that measurable improvements in HCV testing, hepatitis A and B vaccinations, and testable knowledge, attitudes, and motivations may be elicited by such a curriculum.

In this study, we will investigate the impact of a 4-module short video educational series on these measures in in-treatment drug users maintained on methadone. Subjects will be enrolled in 3 sequential cohorts of 150 each: usual care, a 4 weekly sequential video cohort, and a single-session intervention in which the 4 videos are viewed at once. Subjects will undergo written testing for knowledge, attitudes about transmission behaviors, and motivations toward behavior change before 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 12-week time point in all cohorts.