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Abstract Details
Hepatitis C Competency and Outreach of Occupational Health Nurses
Surjadi M1, Nuchols B2, Souza D, Wolfe L3, Burgel B1. Workplace Health Saf. 2019 Jun 10:2165079919841637. doi: 10.1177/2165079919841637. [Epub ahead of print]
Author information
1 University of California, San Francisco.
2 Sutter Health.
3 Corteva Agriscience.
Abstract
In the United States, approximately one half of individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) are not aware of their status. Current HCV treatment is highly successful and is associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality. Occupational health nurses (OHNs) are often the sole health care providers at worksites and have a unique opportunity to provide HCV education, screening, and linkage to care. This project measured changes in OHN HCV competency and outreach, and identified barriers to screening. In June 2017, Survey 1 was emailed to 3,414 American Association of Occupational Health Nurse (AAOHN) members. For HCV competence, HCV knowledge and confidence in educating and counseling employees regarding HCV were assessed. HCV outreach and barriers to screening were identified. The HCV educational campaign launched in October 2017 with a webinar, a webpage/toolkit, and educational emails. Survey 2 was emailed in January 2018 to assess for changes in HCV competency and outreach. A total of 445 OHNs responded to Survey 1, and 111 completed both surveys, and participant demographics represented AAOHN membership base (95% female, mean age 56.4). The average HCV knowledge pretest score was 76% and posttest score was 77%. Confidence in educating/counseling employees about HCV increased from 2.6 to 2.9 (on a 1-5 scale; p = .052). Higher pretest scores were associated with bachelor's degree (BS/BA) education or above, greater confidence in HCV education/counseling of employees, and HCV education participation within the prior 12 months. There are ongoing HCV learning needs for OHNs and greater opportunities for HCV outreach in worksites.