Stagg, HR;
Surey, J;
Francis, M;
MacLellan, J;
Foster, GR;
Charlett, A;
Abubakar, I;
(2019)
Improving engagement with healthcare in hepatitis C: a randomised controlled trial of a peer support intervention.
BMC Medicine
, 17
, Article 71. 10.1186/s12916-019-1300-2.
Preview |
Text
s12916-019-1300-2.pdf - Published Version Download (393kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Background: Peer support can enable patient engagement with healthcare services, particularly for marginalised populations. In this randomised controlled trial, the efficacy of a peer support intervention at promoting successful engagement with clinical services for chronic hepatitis C was assessed. Methods: In London, UK, potential participants were approached through outreach services for problematic drug use and homelessness. Individuals positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) after confirmatory testing were randomised using an online service to the intervention (peer support) or standard of care. The primary outcome of interest was successful engagement with clinical hepatitis services. The study was non-blinded. Absolute differences were calculated using a generalised linear model and the results compared to logistic regression. Results: Three hundred sixty-four individuals consented to participate. One hundred one had chronic hepatitis C and were randomised, 63 to receive the intervention (peer support). A successful outcome was achieved by 23 individuals in this arm (36.5%) and seven (18.4%) receiving the standard of care, giving an absolute increase of 18.1% (95% confidence interval 1.0–35.2%, p value = 0.04). This was mirrored in the logistic regression (odds ratio 2.55 (0.97–6.70), p = 0.06). No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Peer support can improve the engagement of patients with chronic HCV with healthcare services.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Improving engagement with healthcare in hepatitis C: a randomised controlled trial of a peer support intervention |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12916-019-1300-2 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-019-1300-2 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. |
| Keywords: | Hepatitis C, Peer support, Peer advocacy, Peer worker |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10072139 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
