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 == 1.5?5.7. 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 == 1.9?4.7). 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.

Notes:

doi: 10.3109/10826080902864894