Abstract
Ignorance about Hepatitis-C (HCV) among drug users, treatment staff, and policy makers thwarts treatment uptake and facilitates virus transmission. We assessed knowledge about HCV among methadone patients in Israel, where effective HCV-treatment is provided at low-cost within the national health insurance framework, yet few infected methadone patients are treated. In 2006, 512 patients in two methadone clinics in Israel were interviewed, of whom 53% were HCV-positive. The clinics were purposively selected from the 11 methadone clinics in the country. Respondents exhibited poor knowledge about HCV, particularly about diagnosis and treatment. Lesser-educated respondents were three times more likely to score low on HCV-knowledge compared to those with 12+ years of schooling (AOR = 2.97, 95 CI = 1.55.7. HCV-negative patients were also three-times more likely than HCV-positive patients to score low on the HCV-knowledge scale (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 3.0, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.94.7). Enhancing HCV-knowledge may help patients avoid becoming infected and infecting others, allay exaggerated fears about hepatitis, and facilitate HCV-treatment initiation among those infected.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 58-76 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Substance Use and Misuse |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- Drug dependence
- HCV
- Hepatitis C
- Knowledge
- Methadone
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Health(social science)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health