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Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 29, Number 5

HCV Prevalence in Methadone Maintenance: Self-report Versus Serum Test

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Objectives: To assess hepatitis C virus (HCV) serostatus, risk factors, and desire for education about HCV among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients. Methods: We surveyed 200 MMT patients and reviewed charts for 276 patients. Results: The self-report HCV seroprevalence was 34%, adjusted to 52%. The chart review HCV seroprevalence was 70%. Most participants had risk factors for contracting or spreading HCV. Conclusions: There is discrepancy in HCV seroprevalence by self-report versus serum test results among MMT patients. Some HCV+ MMT patients engage in high-risk behaviors for HCV transmission and may not disclose HCV+ status. MMT patients want HCV education.

Keywords: epidemiology; hepatitis C virus; injection drug use; methadone maintenance

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Departments of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 2: Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Publication date: 01 September 2005

More about this publication?

  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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