Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV Infections
Conditions
Keywords
Blood-borne viruses, Prisons, Surveillance
Brief summary
The Australian Hepatitis and risk survey in prisons (AusHep) is a national prison-based blood-borne virus (BBV) surveillance study. This biobehavioural survey involves point-of-care testing for hepatitis C (HCV) antibodies and RNA (if antibody positive), hepatitis B surface antigens, hepatitis B surface antibodies, and HIV surface antibodies, and an interview-style survey on prior testing and treatment history and engagement in risk behaviours. The study will recruit approximately 2400 prisoner participants from 25 representative prisons across Australia, annually.
Interventions
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPoint-of-care hepatitis C antibody test
Qualitative point-of-care test for hepatitis C antibodies (saliva sample)
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPoint-of-care hepatitis C RNA test
Hepatitis C Viral Load point-of-care test (fingerstick wholeblood sample)
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPoint-of-care hepatitis B surface antibody test
Qualitative hepatitis B surface antibody point-of-care test (fingerstick wholeblood sample)
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPoint-of-care hepatitis B surface antigen test
Qualitative hepatitis B surface antigen point-of-care test (fingerstick wholeblood sample)
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTPoint-of-care HIV antibody test
Qualitative HIV antibody point-of-care test (saliva sample)
BEHAVIORALInterview-style survey
Interview-style survey regarding demographics, risk behaviours, BBV testing and treatment history, and point-of-care testing acceptability
Sponsors
Kirby Institute
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Any remandee or sentenced prisoner who has provided informed consent is eligible to participate in the study.
Exclusion criteria
* Individuals who are unable or unwilling to provide consent or abide by the requirements of the study, as assessed by the trained nurses. Some individuals may be considered unable to provide consent or abide by the requirements of the study if they are: * Too mentally unwell to provide consent * Profoundly intellectually impaired * Unable to speak English and comprehend the survey. Those excluded from participating in the study will be referred to the local prison clinic service for standard of care.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The prevalence of HCV in Australian prisons | 1 Year | This is estiamted by perfroming the HCV antibody test and HCV RNA viral load test on a representative prison population. |
| The prevalance of HBV in Australian prisons | 1 year | This is estimated by performing the HBV surface antigen test on a respresentative prison population |
| The prevalance of HIV in Australian prisons | 1 year | This is estimated by performing the HIV antibody test on a respresentative prison population. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The factors associated with HCV and HBV infection investigated by the bio-behavioural survey. | 1 Year | — |
| The factors associated with engaging in each step of HCV and HBV care cascades and HBV vaccination investigated by the bio-behavioural survey. | 1 Year | — |
| The proportion of individuals who are engaged in each step of HBV and HCV care cascades | 1 Year | This is estimated by conducting the bio-behavioural survey. |
| The prevalence of risk behaviours and harm reduction access | 1 Year | The risk behavrious and harm reduction measures include injecting and non-injecting drug use, high risk injecting practices, sexual risk behaviours, tattooing; and bleach or opioid substitution therapy (OST) uptake. This is estimated by conducting the bio-behavioural survey. |
Countries
Australia
Contacts
Primary ContactAndrew Lloyd
Backup ContactYumi Sheehan
Outcome results
None listed