Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review
Abstract Background and aims Refugees are at higher risk for hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV), but often face unique healthcare barriers to vaccination, testing, and treatment. This scoping review aimed to identify and characterize HBV and HCV prevention and care services serving refugee popu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08861-1 |
| _version_ | 1797199641450643456 |
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| author | Ankeeta Saseetharran Lindsey Hiebert Neil Gupta Françoise Nyirahabihirwe Innocent Kamali John W. Ward |
| author_facet | Ankeeta Saseetharran Lindsey Hiebert Neil Gupta Françoise Nyirahabihirwe Innocent Kamali John W. Ward |
| author_sort | Ankeeta Saseetharran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background and aims Refugees are at higher risk for hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV), but often face unique healthcare barriers to vaccination, testing, and treatment. This scoping review aimed to identify and characterize HBV and HCV prevention and care services serving refugee populations globally. Methods A literature search was conducted on Embase, Cochrane, and PubMed databases. Research studies published in English between January 2010 to July 2022 describing an HBV or HCV prevention, testing, or treatment intervention for refugees were included. Results There were a total of 69 articles reporting viral hepatitis prevalence, implementation of services, or economic modelling. Of the 38 implementation studies, 14 were stand-alone HBV and/or HCV interventions, while 24 studies included HBV and/or HCV in an intervention targeting multiple infectious diseases and/or parasitic infections. Interventions commonly included a testing (n = 30) or referral (n = 24) component. Frequently reported features to promote program accessibility included bilingual services (n = 25), community partnerships (n = 21), and multidisciplinary staff members (n = 18), such as cultural and/or linguistic mediators, community health workers, community health leaders, lay health workers, local health staff, members of the refugee community, and social workers. The most commonly reported challenge was the transience of refugees (n = 5). Twenty studies noted funding sources, of which twelve reported governmental funding (not including national health insurance) and eight reported that refugees received national health insurance. Conclusions This is the first scoping review to characterize the types of hepatitis prevention, screening, and treatment interventions serving refugee populations globally. Published experiences of HBV and HCV services for refugee populations remain limited. Additional efforts are needed to disseminate models of hepatitis interventions for refugees to ensure access to care for this key population. To achieve hepatitis elimination globally, best practices must be identified and shared to expand access to hepatitis services for refugee populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:21:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e4db62ee0dc9446d99ce1cd369b2500d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2334 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:18:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Infectious Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-e4db62ee0dc9446d99ce1cd369b2500d2024-04-21T11:10:15ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342023-12-0123111210.1186/s12879-023-08861-1Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping reviewAnkeeta Saseetharran0Lindsey Hiebert1Neil Gupta2Françoise Nyirahabihirwe3Innocent Kamali4John W. Ward5Coalition for Global Hepatitis EliminationCoalition for Global Hepatitis EliminationCoalition for Global Hepatitis EliminationPartners in Health/Inshuti Mu BuzimaPartners in Health/Inshuti Mu BuzimaCoalition for Global Hepatitis EliminationAbstract Background and aims Refugees are at higher risk for hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV), but often face unique healthcare barriers to vaccination, testing, and treatment. This scoping review aimed to identify and characterize HBV and HCV prevention and care services serving refugee populations globally. Methods A literature search was conducted on Embase, Cochrane, and PubMed databases. Research studies published in English between January 2010 to July 2022 describing an HBV or HCV prevention, testing, or treatment intervention for refugees were included. Results There were a total of 69 articles reporting viral hepatitis prevalence, implementation of services, or economic modelling. Of the 38 implementation studies, 14 were stand-alone HBV and/or HCV interventions, while 24 studies included HBV and/or HCV in an intervention targeting multiple infectious diseases and/or parasitic infections. Interventions commonly included a testing (n = 30) or referral (n = 24) component. Frequently reported features to promote program accessibility included bilingual services (n = 25), community partnerships (n = 21), and multidisciplinary staff members (n = 18), such as cultural and/or linguistic mediators, community health workers, community health leaders, lay health workers, local health staff, members of the refugee community, and social workers. The most commonly reported challenge was the transience of refugees (n = 5). Twenty studies noted funding sources, of which twelve reported governmental funding (not including national health insurance) and eight reported that refugees received national health insurance. Conclusions This is the first scoping review to characterize the types of hepatitis prevention, screening, and treatment interventions serving refugee populations globally. Published experiences of HBV and HCV services for refugee populations remain limited. Additional efforts are needed to disseminate models of hepatitis interventions for refugees to ensure access to care for this key population. To achieve hepatitis elimination globally, best practices must be identified and shared to expand access to hepatitis services for refugee populations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08861-1Hepatitis BHepatitis CRefugeeTestingTreatmentVaccination |
| spellingShingle | Ankeeta Saseetharran Lindsey Hiebert Neil Gupta Françoise Nyirahabihirwe Innocent Kamali John W. Ward Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review BMC Infectious Diseases Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Refugee Testing Treatment Vaccination |
| title | Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review |
| title_full | Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review |
| title_fullStr | Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review |
| title_short | Prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for hepatitis B and C in refugee populations: results of a scoping review |
| title_sort | prevention testing and treatment interventions for hepatitis b and c in refugee populations results of a scoping review |
| topic | Hepatitis B Hepatitis C Refugee Testing Treatment Vaccination |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08861-1 |
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