Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:In the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively low in the general population, but is much higher among people who inject drugs (PWID). We conducted an exploratory study to investigate...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:452e5762f7604cbca9c4001d0382c8ea 2023-05-15T16:48:49+02:00 Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. Kelly Safreed-Harmon Kristina L Hetherington Soo Aleman Hannu Alho Olav Dalgard Tove Frisch Magnus Gottfredsson Nina Weis Jeffrey V Lazarus Hep-Nordic Study Group 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190146 https://doaj.org/article/452e5762f7604cbca9c4001d0382c8ea EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5790214?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190146 https://doaj.org/article/452e5762f7604cbca9c4001d0382c8ea PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 1, p e0190146 (2018) Medicine R Science Q article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190146 2022-12-31T03:28:27Z BACKGROUND AND AIMS:In the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively low in the general population, but is much higher among people who inject drugs (PWID). We conducted an exploratory study to investigate the extent to which these countries have policies supporting key elements of the public health response that is necessary to achieve the global goal of eliminating HCV as a public health threat. METHODS:Fourteen stakeholders representing government agencies, medical societies, and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Nordic countries completed a cross-sectional online survey that included 21 policy questions related to national coordination, prevention, testing, linkage to care, and treatment. We summarised the findings in a descriptive analysis, and noted discrepant responses from stakeholders within the same country. RESULTS:Stakeholders reported that three of the five study countries have national viral hepatitis strategies, while only Iceland has a national HCV elimination goal. The availability of harm reduction services varies, with opioid substitution therapy provided for the general population throughout all countries, but not needle and syringe programmes. No country has access to anonymous HCV testing in all parts of the country. National HCV treatment guidelines are available in all countries except Finland, and all countries provide publicly funded direct-acting antiviral treatment. Disagreement regarding policies was observed across countries, and CSOs were the stakeholder group that most frequently answered survey questions incorrectly. CONCLUSION:The Nordic region as a whole has not consistently expressed its commitment to tackling HCV, despite the existence of large HCV epidemics among PWID in these countries. Stakeholder alignment and an established elimination goal with an accompanying strategy and implementation plan should be recognised as the basis for coordinated national public health ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway PLOS ONE 13 1 e0190146 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Kelly Safreed-Harmon Kristina L Hetherington Soo Aleman Hannu Alho Olav Dalgard Tove Frisch Magnus Gottfredsson Nina Weis Jeffrey V Lazarus Hep-Nordic Study Group Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. |
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Medicine R Science Q |
description |
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:In the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is relatively low in the general population, but is much higher among people who inject drugs (PWID). We conducted an exploratory study to investigate the extent to which these countries have policies supporting key elements of the public health response that is necessary to achieve the global goal of eliminating HCV as a public health threat. METHODS:Fourteen stakeholders representing government agencies, medical societies, and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Nordic countries completed a cross-sectional online survey that included 21 policy questions related to national coordination, prevention, testing, linkage to care, and treatment. We summarised the findings in a descriptive analysis, and noted discrepant responses from stakeholders within the same country. RESULTS:Stakeholders reported that three of the five study countries have national viral hepatitis strategies, while only Iceland has a national HCV elimination goal. The availability of harm reduction services varies, with opioid substitution therapy provided for the general population throughout all countries, but not needle and syringe programmes. No country has access to anonymous HCV testing in all parts of the country. National HCV treatment guidelines are available in all countries except Finland, and all countries provide publicly funded direct-acting antiviral treatment. Disagreement regarding policies was observed across countries, and CSOs were the stakeholder group that most frequently answered survey questions incorrectly. CONCLUSION:The Nordic region as a whole has not consistently expressed its commitment to tackling HCV, despite the existence of large HCV epidemics among PWID in these countries. Stakeholder alignment and an established elimination goal with an accompanying strategy and implementation plan should be recognised as the basis for coordinated national public health ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kelly Safreed-Harmon Kristina L Hetherington Soo Aleman Hannu Alho Olav Dalgard Tove Frisch Magnus Gottfredsson Nina Weis Jeffrey V Lazarus Hep-Nordic Study Group |
author_facet |
Kelly Safreed-Harmon Kristina L Hetherington Soo Aleman Hannu Alho Olav Dalgard Tove Frisch Magnus Gottfredsson Nina Weis Jeffrey V Lazarus Hep-Nordic Study Group |
author_sort |
Kelly Safreed-Harmon |
title |
Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. |
title_short |
Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. |
title_full |
Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. |
title_fullStr |
Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Policy responses to hepatitis C in the Nordic countries: Gaps and discrepant reporting in the Hep-Nordic study. |
title_sort |
policy responses to hepatitis c in the nordic countries: gaps and discrepant reporting in the hep-nordic study. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190146 https://doaj.org/article/452e5762f7604cbca9c4001d0382c8ea |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 1, p e0190146 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5790214?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190146 https://doaj.org/article/452e5762f7604cbca9c4001d0382c8ea |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190146 |
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PLOS ONE |
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13 |
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1 |
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e0190146 |
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