Educational Powerpoint

1. HEPATITIS C
AND IV DRUG USE
Lisa Lemieux
Palm Beach State College

2. WHAT IS HEPATITIS C?
• Viral infection in the liver
• Spread through infected blood or bodily fluids
• Infects up to 3% of the world’s population
• 3.2 million infected in the United States (1/8%)
• There is no vaccine to prevent the spread
• (Lundy & Jones, 2016)
• Illicit drug users are 20-50% of affected population
• Leads to cirrhosis or liver cancer
• (Zanini et a., 2013)

3. OBJECTIVES
• Educate those at risk for Hepatitis C
• Provide information on preventing
infections or spread of illness
• Provide information on treatment
options
• Create a safe and open environment for
discussion
• Include information on substance
abuse detox/rehabilitation

4. TARGET AUDIENCE
Education for intravenous drug users
Education to be provided at a needle exchange or safe injection site
Nursing group education during substance abuse treatment
Provide education on treatment options for those already infected
8-25% of IV drugs users will become infected each year (Page et al., 2013)

5. OUTLINE
• Introduction – background information on Hepatitis
C
• Assess – Ask group about their knowledge of the
disease
- Address rumors about disease and
transmission
• Educate – Provide information on disease
transmission
- Provide information on reducing risk
factors
• Assess learning – question and answer session
• Provide information and pamphlets on treatment
options (6 months sobriety)
• Offer testing (if facility permits) or direct to
community resources

6. FOCUSED TREATMENT OPTIONS
• Prevent or reduce sharing of drug equipment
(needles, spoons/cookers, cottons, etc)
• Screening for Hepatitis C – include counseling
• Reducing risk when in relationship with an IV
drug user
• Stopping use of IV drugs
• Distribution of needles and drug use
equiptment
• (Page et al., 2013)

7. EVALUATION
• Number of participants who get
tested after education
• Number of participants who
return to needle exchange
program
• Verbalize understanding of
treatment options

8. ROLE OF
COMMUNITY
HEALTH NURSE
• Facilitate learning
• Staff safe injection sites and needle
exchanges
• Work at health department where
testing Is offered
• Provide inservices and education at
substance abuse facilities
• Provide medication education and
counseling on those who test positive
• Educate on treatment options
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

9. REFERENCES
• Lundy, K. S., & Janes, S. (2016). Community health nursing: Caring for the publics
health. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
• Page, K., Morris, M. D., Hahn, J. A., Maher, L., & Prins, M. (2013). Injection drug use
and hepatitis C virus infection in young adult injectors: Using evidence to inform
comprehensive prevention. Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication of the
Infectious Diseases Society of America, 57(Suppl 2), S32–S38.
http://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cit300
• Zanini, B., Benini, F., Pigozzi, M. G., Furba, P., Giacò, E., Cinquegrana, A., … Lanzini, A.
(2013). Addicts with chronic hepatitis C: Difficult to reach, manage or treat? World
Journal of Gastroenterology : WJG, 19(44), 8011–8019.
http://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v19.i44.8011