eprintid: 10197764 rev_number: 7 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/19/77/64 datestamp: 2024-09-30 07:18:27 lastmod: 2024-09-30 07:18:27 status_changed: 2024-09-30 07:18:27 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Gupta, Neil creators_name: Hiebert, Lindsey creators_name: Saseetharran, Ankeeta creators_name: Chappell, Catherine creators_name: El-Sayed, Manal H creators_name: Hamid, Saeed creators_name: Jhaveri, Ravi creators_name: Judd, Ali creators_name: Kushner, Tatyana creators_name: Badell, Martina creators_name: Biondi, Mia creators_name: Buresh, Megan creators_name: Prasad, Mona creators_name: Price, Jennifer C creators_name: Ward, John W title: Best practices for hepatitis C linkage to care in pregnant and postpartum women: perspectives from the Treatment In Pregnancy for Hepatitis C Community of Practice ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: D65 divisions: J38 keywords: Hepatitis C, linkage to care, peripartum, pregnancy note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: There is an increasing burden of hepatitis C virus among persons of reproductive age, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, in many regions worldwide. Routine health services during pregnancy present a critical window of opportunity to diagnose and link women with hepatitis C virus infection for care and treatment to decrease hepatitis C virus-related morbidity and early mortality. Effective treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in women diagnosed during pregnancy also prevents hepatitis C virus-related adverse events in pregnancy and hepatitis C virus vertical transmission in future pregnancies. However, linkage to care and treatment for women diagnosed in pregnancy remains insufficient. Currently, there are no best practice recommendations from professional societies to ensure appropriate peripartum linkage to hepatitis C virus care and treatment. We convened a virtual Community of Practice to understand key challenges to the hepatitis C virus care cascade for women diagnosed with hepatitis C virus in pregnancy, highlight published models of integrated hepatitis C virus services for pregnant and postpartum women, and preview upcoming research and programmatic initiatives to improve linkage to hepatitis C virus care for this population. Four-hundred seventy-three participants from 43 countries participated in the Community of Practice, including a diverse range of practitioners from public health, primary care, and clinical specialties. The Community of Practice included panel sessions with representatives from major professional societies in obstetrics/gynecology, maternal fetal medicine, addiction medicine, hepatology, and infectious diseases. From this Community of Practice, we provide a series of best practices to improve linkage to hepatitis C virus treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, including specific interventions to enhance colocation of services, treatment by nonspecialist providers, active engagement and patient navigation, and decreasing time to hepatitis C virus treatment initiation. The Community of Practice aims to further support antenatal providers in improving linkage to care by producing and disseminating detailed operational guidance and recommendations and supporting operational research on models for linkage and treatment. Additionally, the Community of Practice may be leveraged to build training materials and toolkits for antenatal providers, convene experts to formalize operational recommendations, and conduct surveys to understand needs of antenatal providers. Such actions are required to ensure equitable access to hepatitis C virus treatment for women diagnosed with hepatitis C virus in pregnancy and urgently needed to achieve the ambitious targets for hepatitis C virus elimination by 2030. date: 2024-10 date_type: published publisher: Elsevier BV official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2024.06.028 full_text_type: other language: eng verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2302890 doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.06.028 medium: Print-Electronic pii: S0002-9378(24)00704-X lyricists_name: Judd, Ali lyricists_id: AJUDD59 actors_name: Judd, Ali actors_id: AJUDD59 actors_role: owner full_text_status: restricted publication: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology volume: 231 number: 4 pagerange: 377-385 event_location: United States issn: 0002-9378 citation: Gupta, Neil; Hiebert, Lindsey; Saseetharran, Ankeeta; Chappell, Catherine; El-Sayed, Manal H; Hamid, Saeed; Jhaveri, Ravi; ... Ward, John W; + view all <#> Gupta, Neil; Hiebert, Lindsey; Saseetharran, Ankeeta; Chappell, Catherine; El-Sayed, Manal H; Hamid, Saeed; Jhaveri, Ravi; Judd, Ali; Kushner, Tatyana; Badell, Martina; Biondi, Mia; Buresh, Megan; Prasad, Mona; Price, Jennifer C; Ward, John W; - view fewer <#> (2024) Best practices for hepatitis C linkage to care in pregnant and postpartum women: perspectives from the Treatment In Pregnancy for Hepatitis C Community of Practice. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology , 231 (4) pp. 377-385. 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.06.028 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2024.06.028>. document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197764/1/Best%20Practices%20for%20Hepatitis%20C%20Linkage%20to%20Care%20in%20Pregnant%20and%20Postpartum%20Women%20AJOG%20Pre-print%20July%202024.pdf