ArticleViruses2025
Getting to the Point: A Community-Designed, Low-Barrier Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment Program for People Who Inject Drugs in Rural America.
Article in Viruses, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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
backgroundPeople who inject drugs (PWID) have a higher risk of contracting hepatitis C (HCV) than the general population, but these individuals are often poorly served by traditional healthcare systems. The elimination of HCV as a threat to public health relies on the treatment of this population. Novel care models designed with input from PWID may help to better align care to the needs of PWID.
methodsWe designed and implemented a community-based, point-of-care testing program for HCV delivered by a syringe service program, combined with facilitated access to a healthcare provider, care navigation, and financial incentives. We collected participant demographics and drug use patterns, testing and treatment history, and communication preferences. Descriptive analyses include the number of people tested between 15 October 2021 and 1 February 2025, their seropositivity rate, and the number who completed pre-treatment laboratory tests, completed treatment and achieved cure by sustained virologic response (SVR12) by 1 August 2025.
resultsThe program engaged 464 unique individuals, of whom 98 (21.1%) had a known diagnosis of HCV. Of 389 unique individuals who underwent point of care (POC) HCV antibody (Ab) testing, including 31 with a known prior diagnosis of HCV, 97 (24.9%) had a positive result. Of 439 unique individuals who underwent POC HIV Ab testing, only 1 had a positive result. Of 164 individuals with either a positive POC HCV Ab test or a known HCV diagnosis, 66 completed pre-treatment laboratory tests, identifying 52 viremic participants. Of those, 35 started and completed treatment. Among those who completed treatment, 9 (25.7%) achieved SVR12, 3 (8.6) failed to achieve SVR12, and 23 (65.7%) had outstanding laboratory orders for SVR12 determination.
conclusionsAn incentivized, community-based, point-of-care testing program with facilitated linkage to care successfully engaged a high-risk population in HCV and HIV testing and treatment. However, substantial attrition occurred at each step of the care cascade, particularly at SVR12 determination. Additional strategies are needed to optimize retention throughout the entire care cascade.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.