Qualitative evaluation of the barriers and facilitators to a retrospective hepatitis C virus patient re-engagement exercise in England .

objectivesThe UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service England (NHSE) led a hepatitis C virus (HCV) patient re-engagement exercise beginning in 2018, which entailed sharing public health surveillance data with NHSE Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) in England. The ODNs used the data to contact and offer testing and treatment to people historically diagnosed with HCV, but who did not have evidence of successfully clearing the virus. A quantitative evaluation found that of 55 329 individuals whose details were shared with ODNs, around 13% had treatment after the exercise commenced. This qualitative evaluation aims to identify the barriers and facilitators to the re-engagement exercise as reported by ODN staff.

designSemistructured interviews. The topic guide and analysis were guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework, using a combined deductive framework and inductive thematic analysis approach. SETTING AND

participants21 staff from 13 ODNs. The sampling frame was designed to capture participants from all regions of England and with varied outcomes from the re-engagement exercise.

resultsInterviewees reported the most barriers in environmental context and resources (including staffing limitations, interruptions during COVID-19, restricted laboratory access), and social influences (with limited responses from general practitioners and patients). Interviewees discussed whether it was appropriate for ODNs and individual staff to be assigned the data validation work and reported some stress and memory/attention barriers due to the volume of the exercise. They had varied beliefs about the consequences of the exercise, with most believing it was worthwhile due to treatment yield, lessons learnt and confirmation that some people had cleared the virus. Further facilitators included the ODN goals fitting with the exercise, and regional resources such as patient databases. Interviewees also reported adaptations to the exercise that facilitated patient contact, and their ongoing work to re-engage patients emphasised outreach partnerships and peer support.

conclusionsThe evaluation revealed insights into methods for re-engaging patients and of sharing and using public health data to support clinical practice. Government support and funding provision for regionally tailored holistic re-engagement approaches, alongside enhancements to health surveillance data, could enable barriers to re-engagement to be overcome.