|
|
Learning Objective:
1. By the end of the presentation, participants will describe the successes and challenges of 3 Hepatitis pre-screening protocols.
2. By the end of the presentation, participants will list strategies to identify clients at the highest risk for Hepatitis.
Background:
The Los Angeles (LA) County, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy (OAPP) funded 3 organizations in LA County (California State University Long Beach (CSULB), LA Gay & Lesbian Center (LAGLC), Valley Community Clinic (VCC)) to provide HIV, STDs, and hepatitis screening via mobile units. Each organization developed a pre-screening protocol in order to ensure that clients were being tested for the diseases that they were at risk for contracting instead of testing everyone for all diseases.
Setting:
Mobile Testing Units with multiple morbidity screening programs in LA
Population e.g. API Youth, MSM, IDU:
CSULB and VCC targeted MSM, MSMW, WSR, and IDUs while LAGLC targeted MSM only.
Project Description:
OAPP reviewed pre-screening protocols for the 3 programs to analyze the risks being assessed. OAPP staff also interviewed program coordinators to identify the risks of clients associated with testing at the sites. Positivity rates for Hepatitis A, B, and C were compared across sites to determine which protocol was most successful in yielding positive results.
Results/Lessons Learned:
1. CSULB yielded the highest positivity rates for Hepatitis A (78%), B (83%), and C (69%) while the LAGLC yielded the lowest rates of Hepatitis A (19%), B (17%), and C (2%).
2. Programs targeting IDUs were more successful in identifying higher rates of Hepatitis A, B, and C. However, higher rates of other STDs were found at sites not targeting IDUs.
3. Programs that reviewed behaviors over longer time periods (2-3 years) rather than more recent (six months) yielded higher positivity rates for Heaptitis A, B, and C.
See more of Poster Session #2
See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference