Location:
Berg Family Foundation Seminar Room, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Kensington Campus, UNSW Sydney
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph, +61 (2) 9385 0900 or recpt@kirby.unsw.edu.au
Kirby Institute Seminar Series presents
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Head of Population Health Sciences, Deputy Head of Bristol Medical School, and Director of NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation Professor Matt Hickman is Head of Population Health Sciences, Deputy Head of Bristol Medical School, and Director of NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation. His research is in the epidemiology of drug misuse and health consequences of drug misuse. These include epidemiology of HCV infection and other blood borne viruses among injecting drug users; and methods of estimating the size of drug user populations and measuring risk behaviour. He also researches general methods in public health surveillance. |
Abstract
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends the promotion of HCV case-finding in “higher risk” people in primary care and specialist drug clinics. But there was no robust RCT evidence of specific interventions. We report on two studies:
- HepCATT (Hepatitis C Assessment to Treatment Trial) in Primary Care: a cluster RCT of whether a complex intervention based on a risk prediction algorithm tool is effective, acceptable and cost-effective, and can increase testing and diagnosis of HCV in primary care;
- HepCATT in community drug clinics: a non-randomised controlled study of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of HCV facilitators aiming to improve uptake of HCV testing and linkage to care.
Both studies were found to be effective and cost-effective.