Published in:
01-09-2019 | Hepatitis B | Hepatitis B (JK Lim, Section Editor)
Community-Based Strategies to Improve Screening, Diagnosis and Linkage to Care for Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B
Authors:
Monica Robotin, Jacob George
Published in:
Current Hepatology Reports
|
Issue 3/2019
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Abstract
Purpose of Review
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) places 3.5% of the world population at risk of dying from liver failure or liver cancer. Effective antiviral therapies can change disease outcomes, provided that CHB screening and linkage to care can be delivered at population level, to reach the vast numbers of undiagnosed people. We therefore reviewed the experience of community-based CHB screening programs reported in the English literature since 2014.
Recent Findings
Twenty papers met eligibility criteria and only one originated from a low-income country. The two randomised studies found that culturally tailored hepatitis education increased hepatitis testing. Successful linkage to care was facilitated by partnerships with community-based organisations and the use of bilingual patient navigators. Point of care testing and chain referral sampling were successfully tested in two programs.
Summary
These studies demonstrated that community-based interventions can screen large numbers of people and could deliver the population-level outcomes required to meet the WHO targets of hepatitis B elimination.