Trial reportEuropean journal of public health2015
A stepped wedge cluster randomized control trial of dried blood spot testing to improve the uptake of hepatitis C antibody testing within UK prisons.
Trial report in European journal of public health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Best practice guidelines for viral hepatitis service delivery in prisons.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Hepatitis B and C testing strategies in healthcare and community settings in the EU/EEA: A systematic review.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2019Pooled it
- Active Case Finding for Communicable Diseases in Prison Settings: Increasing Testing Coverage and Uptake Among the Prison Population in the European Union/European Economic Area.Epidemiologic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Systematic review of health and behavioural outcomes of smoking cessation interventions in prisons.Tobacco control · 2016Pooled it
- Evidence-based interventions to enhance assessment, treatment, and adherence in the chronic Hepatitis C care continuum.The International journal on drug policy · 2015Pooled it
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of interventions to improve the health of persons during imprisonment and in the year after release.American journal of public health · 2015Pooled it
- Inclusion of unexposed clusters improves the precision of fixed effects analysis of stepped-wedge cluster randomized trials with binary and count outcomes.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- Article
- Systems analysis and improvement approach to optimize tuberculosis (SAIA-TB) screening, treatment, and prevention in South Africa: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial.Implementation science communications · 2024Article
- Understanding how, why, for whom, and under what circumstances opt-out blood-borne virus testing programmes work to increase test engagement and uptake within prison: a rapid-realist review.BMC health services research · 2019Review
- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) care in Canadian correctional facilities: Where are we and where do we need to be?Canadian liver journal · 2019Review
- Article
- Use of multiple data sources to estimate hepatitis C seroprevalence among prisoners: A retrospective cohort study.PloS one · 2017Article
- Stepped wedge cluster randomised trials: a review of the statistical methodology used and available.BMC medical research methodology · 2016Review
- Is increased hepatitis C virus case-finding combined with current or 8-week to 12-week direct-acting antiviral therapy cost-effective in UK prisons? A prevention benefit analysis.Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) · 2016Article
- Persons in correctional facilities in Canada: A key population for hepatitis C prevention and control.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) is elevated within prison populations, yet diagnosis in prisons remains low. Dried blood spot testing (DBST) is a simple procedure for the detection of HCV antibodies; its impact on testing in the prison context is unknown.
methodsWe carried out a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized control trial of DBST for HCV among prisoners within five male prisons and one female prison. Each prison was a separate cluster. The order in which the intervention (training in use of DBST for HCV testing and logistic support) was introduced was randomized across clusters. The outcome measure was the HCV testing rate by prison. Imputation analysis was carried out to account for missing data. Planned and actual intervention times differed in some prisons; data were thus analysed by intention to treat (ITT) and by observed step times.
resultsThere was insufficient evidence of an effect of the intervention on testing rate using either the ITT intervention time (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.68-1.03; P = 0.088) or using the actual intervention time (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.71-1.06; P = 0.153). This was confirmed by the pooled results of five imputed data sets.
conclusionsDBST as a stand-alone intervention was insufficient to increase HCV diagnosis within the UK prison setting. Factors such as staff training and allocation of staff time for regular clinics are key to improving service delivery. We demonstrate that prisons can conduct rigorous studies of new interventions, but data collection can be problematic.
trial registrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register (ISRCTN number ISRCTN05628482).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.