<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The success of global strategies to eliminate hepatitis C as a public threat by 2030 depends on local country-wide activities of all involved stakeholders, the most important being general practitioners (GP) and the entire country population. The opinion of currently diagnosed patients can help stakeholders to plan further actions such as addressing new target groups. Our aim was to determine the experiences, opinions, and attitudes of viral hepatitis C (VHC) patients towards the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and corresponding healthcare services in Latvia. Questionnaires were distributed by nurses in hospitals of major cities in Latvia. The survey results highlighted the importance of the role of the general practitioner and time from diagnosis to specialist consultation. The majority of respondents were not aware of VHC symptoms, although they were informed about possible complications such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The major VHC patient pool was not composed of drug users, but people who never used narcotics, highlighting the importance to increase VHC awareness in other risk groups and in the general population. Consequently, targeted VHC screening programmes are essential tools in achieving elimination of HCV infection as a public threat in Latvia. The action plans should be updated regularly aiming to strengthening of the GP role and shortening time to consultation with a specialist.</p>
</abstract>

The success of global strategies to eliminate hepatitis C as a public threat by 2030 depends on local country-wide activities of all involved stakeholders, the most important being general practitioners (GP) and the entire country population. The opinion of currently diagnosed patients can help stakeholders to plan further actions such as addressing new target groups. Our aim was to determine the experiences, opinions, and attitudes of viral hepatitis C (VHC) patients towards the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and corresponding healthcare services in Latvia. Questionnaires were distributed by nurses in hospitals of major cities in Latvia. The survey results highlighted the importance of the role of the general practitioner and time from diagnosis to specialist consultation. The majority of respondents were not aware of VHC symptoms, although they were informed about possible complications such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The major VHC patient pool was not composed of drug users, but people who never used narcotics, highlighting the importance to increase VHC awareness in other risk groups and in the general population. Consequently, targeted VHC screening programmes are essential tools in achieving elimination of HCV infection as a public threat in Latvia. The action plans should be updated regularly aiming to strengthening of the GP role and shortening time to consultation with a specialist.

Towards the Goal of Hepatitis C Elimination in Latvia — Using Patient Survey Results

Department of Public Health and Epidemiology

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The success of global strategies to eliminate hepatitis C as a public threat by 2030 depends on local country-wide activities of all involved stakeholders, the...

Towards the Goal of Hepatitis C Elimination in Latvia — Using Patient Survey Results

Published Online: Jun 02, 2022

Page range: 239 - 245

Received: Dec 21, 2020

Accepted: Oct 05, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2022-0036

Keywords
chronic hepatitis C, HCV, eradication, HCV screening, general practitioners

© 2022 Ieva Tolmane et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Towards the Goal of Hepatitis C Elimination in Latvia — Using Patient Survey Results

Published Online: Jun 02, 2022

Page range: 239 - 245

Received: Dec 21, 2020

Accepted: Oct 05, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2022-0036

Keywordschronic hepatitis C, HCV, eradication, HCV screening, general practitioners

© 2022 Ieva Tolmane et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
chronic hepatitis C, HCV, eradication, HCV screening, general practitioners