Reduce Hepatitis Infections by Treatment and Integrated Prevention Services (Hepatitis-TIPS) among Non-urban Young Persons Who Inject Drugs (CDC-RFA-PS14-004)

Project Period Length: 3 Years

The overarching goal of this cooperative agreement is to use epidemiologic data on risk behaviors, drug use patterns, and injection networks to support the development and implementation of an integrated approach to providing a complete cascade of screening, diagnosis, care, treatment, and prevention of hepatitis C to young, non-urban persons who inject drugs (PWID). In addition to providing hepatitis C virus testing, awardees will provide testing for the presence of infections with hepatitis B virus and HIV. This research will guide and improve the understanding of patterns of hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV in non-urban PWID. This work will provide successful linkages to appropriate prevention services, care and treatment. Such integrated services will include access to clinical interventions, harm reduction strategies, drug treatment interventions, and treatment of hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and HIV infection, when warranted. Awardees will assess access to recommended hepatitis C treatment regimens, record the basis for decisions to defer or begin all-oral therapy, and assess hepatitis C infection status at least once during the twelve months following enrollment or completion of all-oral hepatitis C therapy. Rates of hepatitis C infection or re-infection will be evaluated through follow-up assessment.

CDC has awarded funding for two projects to:

• University of New Mexico – Albuquerque, NM
  (Project Title: The Hepatitis-Treatment and Integrated Prevention, H-TIP)

• University of Cincinnati – Cincinnati, OH
  (Project Title: Southern Ohio Prevents Hepatitis Project (StOPHeP)

Funding:

Funding for the three-year project period is expected to be approximately $599,831 each year.  These funds are not being used to support syringe services programs.

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