Addressing Hepatitis C within a Southwest Tribal Community

Abstract

 Objective: The objective was to identify and treat segments of the local population at greatest risk for viral hepatitis C (HCV) infections.Design: The tribal-based HCV initiatives included community involvement and outreach and HCV data were mined and analyzed. Medical records were reviewed, and new HCV tribal health policies and procedures were developed.Results: A total of 251 tribal members (63.7% male) were diagnosed with HCV and had a positive confirmatory test be­tween the years 2009 and 2014. Through community-based outreach efforts, 85 HCV patients were successfully contacted for education, field-testing, referral and follow-up, an increase of more than 300%.Conclusions: The tribe increased ways to monitor HCV risk factors and com­municable disease pathways.Ethn Dis. 2018;28(4):549-554; doi:10.18865/ed.28.4.549.