Observational studyHarm reduction journal2019
Evaluating peer-supported screening as a hepatitis C case-finding model in prisoners.
Observational study in Harm reduction journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Best practice guidelines for viral hepatitis service delivery in prisons.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Provision of peer support at the intersection of homelessness and problem substance use services: a systematic 'state of the art' review.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Article
- Peer Interventions for Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment in OECD Countries: A Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2026Article
- Article
- Rationale, design, and methodology of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of peer-enhanced care coordination on linkage to HCV care among formerly incarcerated individuals.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- Using the socioecological model to guide service delivery improvements to the prison needle exchange program in Canada: insights from multi-level stakeholders.BMC public health · 2025Article
- 'You've Just Got to Keep Pestering': Barriers and Enablers of Attaining Continuity of Hepatitis C Care for People Transitioning Between Prison and Community Health Services in South-East Queensland, Australia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Hepatitis C Care in the Greater New Orleans Area: Patient Perspectives on the Barriers and Facilitators to Care.Journal of health care for the poor and underserved · 2025Article
- Article
- CHIME - A tailored HCV microelimination project in Viennese people who inject drugs at drug centralized substitution centers.Journal of virus eradication · 2023Article
- Falling treatment uptake in the hepatitis C care cascade is a growing threat to achieving elimination.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2023Article
- Article
- Monitoring progress towards elimination of hepatitis B and C in the EU/EEA.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- The impact of direct-acting antivirals on hepatitis C viraemia among people who inject drugs in England; real-world data 2011-2018.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2021Article
- Cost-effectiveness of mass screening for Hepatitis C virus among all inmates in an Irish prison.The International journal on drug policy · 2021Article
- Article
- New hepatitis C virus infection, re-infection and associated risk behaviour in male Irish prisoners: a cohort study, 2019.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2021Article
- HepCare Ireland-a service innovation project.Irish journal of medical science · 2021Review
- Hepatitis C elimination among people incarcerated in prisons: challenges and recommendations for action within a health systems framework.The lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is endemic in prison populations, and HCV management in prisons is suboptimal. Incarceration is a public health opportunity to target this cohort. Community peer support increases HCV screening and treatment uptake. Prison peer workers have the potential to support the engagement of prisoners with health services and reduce stigma. This study's primary aim is to evaluate peer-supported screening as a model of active HCV case finding with a secondary aim to describe the HCV cascade among those infected including linkage to care and treatment outcomes.
methodsAn observational study was conducted in a medium-security Irish male prison housing 538 inmates, using a risk-based questionnaire, medical records, peer-supported screening, laboratory-based HCV serology tests and mobile elastography.
resultsA prison peer-supported screening initiative engaged large numbers of prisoners in HCV screening (n = 419). The mean age of participants was 32.8 years, 92% were Irish and 33% had a history of injecting drug use. Multiple risk factors for HCV acquisition were identified including needle sharing (16%). On serological testing, 87 (21%) were HCV Ab +ve and 50 (12%) were HCV RNA +ve of whom 80% were fibroscaned (25% showing evidence of liver disease). Eighty-six percent of those with active infection were linked with HCV care, with 33% undergoing or completing treatment. There was a high concordance with HCV disclosure at committal and serological testing (96% for HCV Ab +ve and 89% for HCV Ab -ve).
conclusionPeer-supported screening is an effective active HCV case-finding model to find and link prisoners with untreated active HCV infection to HCV care.
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Registered trials
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.