|
|
Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
1. By the end of the presentation participants will be able to describe why drug treatment staff are well-positioned to address clients' HCV issues.
2. By the end of the presentation participants will be able to identify HCV knowledge gaps among drug treatment staff.
3. By the end of the presentation participants will be able to describe the relationship between staff's HCV knowledge and HCV self-efficacy.
Background:
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection disproportionately affects drug users. Many drug treatment staff are well-positioned to counsel clients about HCV and related services. Little is known, however, about the level of HCV knowledge among drug treatment staff, or how confident they feel to support clients' HCV-related needs.
Methods:
Staff (N=40) in a drug free and a methadone maintenance treatment program in New Jersey completed 1) a 36 item true/false HCV knowledge assessment (with the number of correct items summed to create a total score), and 2) an 11 item scale to measure staff's self-efficacy in counseling clients about HCV and assisting them with their HCV needs, with item scores summed to create a scale score.
Results:
Scores on the HCV knowledge assessment ranged from 0 to 30 correct, with a mean of 19 (48% correct). One third of the items were not answered correctly by at least half of the respondents; these items especially concerned the different strains of HCV, treatment for the virus, and disease progression. Scores on the knowledge assessment correlated significantly with scores on the self efficacy scale (Pearson correlation=.366, p=.03).
Conclusions:
There is a need for targeted training to improve drug treatment staff's HCV-related knowledge. Importantly, given the significant correlation between self-efficacy and HCV knowledge, such an improvement in knowledge may also improve staff's confidence in assisting their clients with their HCV related needs.
See more of Poster Session #2
See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference