Full Recording | Strategies to Bring HBV and HCV Screening to Persons Experiencing Homelessness

At the heart of HCV elimination is the pursuit of health equity. HCV elimination must include everyone. Persons who experience homelessness often are at increased risk of hepatitis C and face more limited access to care. Screening strategies to reach persons who are experiencing homelessness must be community-based and person-centered through leveraging innovations such as point-of-care testing; reflex testing; partnering with peer navigators; and integration with harm reduction, other medical screening initiatives, and other social services. This installment of our Hep Test series shared strategies from experienced programs that have developed effective models of care to reach persons experiencing homelessness.

Presentations from the following exemplar programs:

1. Focused Care Coordination and Strategic Screening & Linkage in Caring for Vulnerable Populations with HCV | Joshua Choi, Los Angeles Christian Health Centers, California, United States

2. Houseless or Homeless? Where the heart is” | Bernadette Lettner and Doug Belanger , Toronto Community Hepatitis C Program, Toronto, Canada

3. Simplified point-of-service model for hepatitis C in people who inject drugs in South Africa | Dr. Elaine Saayman, Sediba Hope Medical Centre NPC, Tshwane, South Africa

4. Shelter-Based Integrated Model of Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment in Persons Experiencing Homelessness Across Two Geographically Diverse US Regions | Dr. Mandana Khalili, University of California San Francisco, California, United States