Martyn, Emily;
O'Regan, Sive;
Harris, Philippa;
Leonard, Mark;
Veitch, Martha;
Sultan, Binta;
Matthews, Philippa C;
... Surey, Julian; + view all
(2023)
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening, linkage and retention-in-care in inclusion health populations: Evaluation of an outreach screening programme in London.
Journal of Infection
10.1016/j.jinf.2023.12.012.
(In press).
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Abstract
Objectives: We evaluated a hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening programme, delivered by a specialist pan-London multidisciplinary outreach team, to understand population characteristics and care cascade among people who experience extreme social exclusion (Inclusion Health (IH) groups).// Methods: Point-of-care HBV screening was performed in temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) and people seeking asylum (initial accommodation centres, IACs) via a mobile unit staffed by peers with lived experience, nurses, and doctors. We analysed demographics and HBV characteristics of adults screened between May 2020 and January 2022. We ascertained linkage-to-care (LTC), retention-in-care (RIC) and loss-to-follow-up (LTFU). People LTFU were contacted by peers to re-engage in care.// Results: 2473 people were screened: 809 in IACs, 1664 in other temporary accommodation. Overall hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence was 1.7% (43/2473), highest in IACs (3.5%, 28/809). LTC within 3 months was 56% (24/43) and RIC, 87% (26/30). LTC was higher when referred to a local IH-specialist hepatitis service, compared to other services (77%, 17/22 vs 33%, 7/21; p = 0.006). LTFU was 30% (13/43), reduced to 21% (9/43) after intervention by peers.// Conclusion: Our findings support outreach screening among IH populations and peer-supported linkage to IH-specialist hepatitis services. We recommend increased HBV testing and HBV-specific IH specialist services.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening, linkage and retention-in-care in inclusion health populations: Evaluation of an outreach screening programme in London |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jinf.2023.12.012 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2023.12.012 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s), 2023. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CC-BY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Hepatitis, Hepatitis B, Inclusion health, Key populations, Outreach, Screening |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Infection and Immunity |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10185904 |
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