Abstract
People who inject drugs (PWID) represent the main risk group for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in most middle and high-income countries. Testing PWID is considered as an important prevention measure. Identification of PWID characteristics associated with HCV testing may contribute to strategies targeting the containment of the HCV and HIV epidemics in Greece. Anonymous behavioural data from 2747 heroin users were collected upon entry in 38 opioid substitution treatment (OST) clinics in Greece during the period 2013-2015. HCV test uptake was the dependent variable while covariates included sociodemographic and addiction-related variables, mostly derived from the EMCDDA treatment demand indicator protocol. Among 2299 cases with complete data on HCV testing, 83.5% reported any HCV testing uptake, with 61.2% reporting a recent test (< 12 months). In the multivariate analyses, any previous HCV testing uptake was associated with age ≥ 25 years, past drug treatment attempt, injecting or sniffing the primary substance, injection history ≥ 5 years, and syringe sharing earlier than the past 12 months. Past HCV test uptake was higher among those reporting full-time employment and 2-4 years injecting histories, and lower among resident...Continue Reading
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