Correlates of anti-hepatitis C positivity and use of harm reduction services among people who inject drugs in two cities in Croatia

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence Vol. 171; pp. 132 - 139
• Main Authors: Handanagic, Senad, Sevic, Sandra, Barbaric, Jelena, Dominkovic, Zoran, Rode, Oktavija Dakovic, Begovac, Josip, Bozicevic, Ivana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.02.2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Cities - epidemiology; Correlation; Croatia; Croatia - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drugs; Female; Harm Reduction; Health risk assessment; Hepatitis; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C - diagnosis; Hepatitis C - epidemiology; Hepatitis C - therapy; Humans; Injecting drug use; Male; Middle Aged; Narcotics; Needle exchange programs; Needle-Exchange Programs - methods; Opioids; Population statistics; Psychiatry; Respondent-driven sampling; Risk behaviors; Risk reduction; Sampling; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - diagnosis; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - therapy; Surveys and Questionnaires; Syringes; Harm reduction; Injecting drug use; Risk Behaviors; Hepatitis C; Respondent-driven sampling; Croatia; Risk behaviors
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.11.028

Highlights • A minority of people who inject drugs (PWID) were tested for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in the past 12 months-7.0% to 21.5% per city. • Of those knowing to be infected with HCV, less than 25% received treatment. • More than a half of PWID in both cities reported misuse of opioid agonist treatment (OAT). • Incarceration was an independent correlate of anti-HCV positivity in Split. • Improvements in OAT and needle and syringe exchange programs (NSEP) provision and access to NSEP in prisons are needed