An exploration of drug injectors' understanding of hepatitis C infection and the implications for transmission (Understanding Hepatitis C project)
NDARC Staff
Carolyn Day, Kate Dolan, Emma Black, Clare Thetford and Susannah O’Brien
Other Investigators
Jo Kimber (Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, London) Susan McGuckin (New South Wales Users and AIDS Association)
Aims
The aims of the study were to measure injecting drug users' (IDU) knowledge of hepatitis C, in particular their knowledge and understanding of issues such as:
- virus transmission
- symptoms and clinical markers, e.g. what it means to have antibodies to hepatitis C and confusion with other forms of hepatitis and other blood-borne viruses
- hygiene issues and blood awareness messages, including the conflation of the various health promotion messages
Design and Method
This cross-sectional study interviewed over 120 injecting drug users across three sites: inner-city, suburban and regional. A questionnaire was purposefully designed to examine IDUs’ knowledge of hepatitis C and their understanding of the virus including that of clinical terms and symptoms. The questionnaire also examined IDUs’ knowledge of hygiene practices and assessed their quality of life using the Injecting Drug Users’ Quality of Life scale (IDUQOL). In depth qualitative interviews were also conducted with 30 IDUs to gain a greater insight into their understanding of hepatitis C
.
Benefits
Greater insight into the understandings and misconceptions regarding hepatitis C was obtained. These may be of use to health professionals and others who work and/or have contact with injecting drug users in tailoring/improving health promotion messages and explanations of test results.
Output
One paper has been published by a scientific journal and another is in preparation:
O'Brien, S., Day, C., Black, E., & Dolan, K. (2008). Injecting drug users' understanding of hepatitis C. Addictive Behaviors, 33, 1602-1605.
Preliminary results of the study were presented at the following conference:
Black, E. What injecting drug users don’t understand about hepatitis C. Presentation to Viral Hepatitis- 5th Australasian Conference, Sydney, Australia, 20-22 February.
The project was originally written up as an NDARC Technical Report:
O'Brien, S., Day, C., Black, E., Thetford, C., & Dolan, K. (2006) Injecting drug users' understanding of Hepatits C. NDARC Technical Report No. 262. Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.
Funding
NSW Health