Nurse Practitioner-Led Hepatitis C Virus Education in a Central Valley Opioid Treatment Program

Author

Nikiesha Thomas Redus, California State University, Northern California Consortium Doctor of Nursing PracticeFollow

Publication Date

Spring 2023

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Dorothy Moore

Second Advisor

Denise Dawkins

Third Advisor

Marc Lasher

Keywords

Hepatitis C virus, Nurse practitioner, Education

Abstract

Introduction Viral hepatitis has been classified as a worldwide public health threat and it is estimated that 130-150 million people worldwide are infected with viral hepatitis. In the United States, increases in hepatitis C infections can be attributed to intravenous drug use and associated behaviors. Many people who inject drugs are unaware of their serostatus and access to accurate hepatitis C virus (HCV) information and education is limited. However, opioid treatment programs are well positioned to fill hepatitis C services gap among people who inject drugs by providing education, to raise hepatitis C awareness and lead to services and treatment utilization. Aims The primary aim was to assess the effects of the implementation of an educational session on a patient’s hepatitis C knowledge in an opioid treatment program. A secondary aim of the project was to increase a patient’s willingness to seek HCV care by a community healthcare provider. Methods & Design This study used a one-group, pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design to measure hepatitis C knowledge before and after an educational session and pre and post-test in 12 participants. Results The results of the two-tailed paired t tests were significant based on an alpha of 0.05, t (11) = -4.30, p= 0.001; 41% of participants followed up with care after the intervention. Conclusion This study showed that providing HCV education to participants in an opioid treatment program was successful at improving their knowledge and awareness regarding hepatitis C and increased their willingness to follow up with HCV care.