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Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research Program
Health Canada

Get the Facts: Mid-term evaluation report

Appendix 3
Key Accomplishments

Research

• 109 presentations by 68% of funded researchers who were surveyed
• 76% of researchers who presented made presentations at an international conference/symposium/meeting
• 65% of researchers who presented made presentations at a Canadian conference/symposium/meeting
  
  
• 32% said that they have published their hepatitis C research, mostly in peer reviewed journals (63% of those who have published)
• resulting in 18 publications
  
  
• Breakthrough development of the "supermouse" model to study new vaccines and treatments for hepatitis C 
  
  
• 33 funded operating grants (Results of Year 1999, 2000 and 2001 competitions)
  
  
• 14 funded training and salary awards (Results of Year 1999, 2000 and 2001 competitions)
  
  
• 6 completed and 2 ongoing research projects funded through grants, contracts and transfers outside of CIHR
• Estimates of HIV/HCV Co-Infection
• Aboriginal Street Youth and HCV (Bureau of HIV/AIDS, STD and TB)
• Economic Impact of HCV
• Manitoba Research Chair
• Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP)
• Cohort Study of Street Youth
• Social Network Analysis of Injection Drug Users
  
  
• 4 completed surveys funded outside of CIHR
• Angus Reid Survey of Hepatitis C Awareness
• Baseline Survey of Hepatitis C Patients and Association Representatives
• Environics Public Opinion Survey
• Special Report on Youth, Piercing, Tattooing and Hepatitis C
  
  
• 5 collaborative surveillance/research initiatives with Health Care Acquired Infections Division, Bloodborne Pathogens Section
• Enhanced Surveillance
• Hepatitis of Unknown Cause: Exploratory Study
• Health Canada Aboriginal Working Group
• Aboriginal Seroprevalence Study on Viral Hepatitis
• Canadian Viral Hepatitis Network

Care and Treatment Support

Professional education/training

• HCV CD ROM for gastroenterologists and rural physicians - pilot test (University of Manitoba/ Liver Disease Unit)
  
  
• Training needs assessment of physicians and other caregivers with priority development conducted by:
• College of Family Physicians
• National Association of Friendship Centres
• Aboriginal Nurses Association
• Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
  
  
• Training workshops by:
• College of Family Physicians of Canada
• Canadian Liver Foundation
  
  
• Distribution of the HCV CD ROM to rural physicians (Society of Rural Physicians of Canada)
  
  
• An HCV-HIV Workshop on the assessment and treatment of HCV-HIV
  
  
• Proceedings from the 1^st Canadian Conference on Hepatitis C
  
  
• Needs assessment for alternative hepatitis C treatment therapies

Guideline development

• Needs analysis of nutritional guidelines for people infected with hepatitis C (Dietitians of Canada)

• Development of Clinical Guidelines for the Reproductive Care of Women Living with Hepatitis C Virus (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada)

• Development of HCV/HIV Co-Infection Treatment Guidelines (Canadian Infectious Disease Society)

• A desk reference for physicians (College of Family Physicians of Canada)

HCV information dissemination

• Reprint and distribution of the Hepatitis C Medical Information Update and Patient Hand-Out

• A volume of The Canadian Journal of Public Health

• A volume of The Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology

• The Web site (www.healthcanada.ca/hepc) provides information on hepatitis C, compensation, Program funded projects, resources, publications, FAQs, contact information, and a question-and-answer service

Networking of professional and non-professional caregivers

• Proceedings of the 1^st Canadian Conference on Hepatitis C, which involved health care professionals, researchers, representatives from community and government organizations, pharmaceutical representatives, and people infected with/affected by HCV

Prevention

Develop knowledge and strategic direction

• Two surveys of the Canadian public about general awareness of hepatitis C, providing evidence of research undertaken to identify needs and gaps in hepatitis C knowledge

• An environmental scan that ascertained the level of community and national HCV-related activities in Canada prior to the start of the Program

• Environmental scans conducted across Canada to identify key players, existing initiatives, barriers, gaps in service and opportunities for hepatitis C prevention and community-based support

• Fact sheets and brochures developed to provide information on risk factors, symptoms, prevention strategies, and where to get more information about hepatitis C for the general public and for high-priority populations such as youth and people who inject drugs

Undertake prevention research to fill gaps in knowledge

• Surveys and discussion papers on issues such as risk factors among youth, HCV and at-risk populations, intervention issues, HCV in Canadian prisons, harm reduction frameworks, and hepatitis C resource needs; then several documents to demonstrate progress in this area

Set prevention programming agenda

• The VANDU case study, an example of "best practice"*

Establish partnerships and intersectoral collaboration

• The environmental scans identified key players, existing initiatives, barriers, gaps in service and opportunities for hepatitis C prevention and community-based support.

• F/P/T collaborative strategic planning session was held to address IDU.

• Prevention-focused partnerships were established with several agencies at the national level (e.g., Canada's Drug Strategy, Correctional Service Canada, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, and Health Care Acquired Infections Division, Bloodborne Pathogens Section).

• Several government staff from other departments were invited to the national Program meeting in November 2001 to explore partnerships both within Health Canada and between Health Canada and the national organizations.

• A summary of research, care and treatment support projects, and prevention and community-based support projects indicates that several have involved partnerships with various Aboriginal groups or organizations.

• Community consultation meetings and capacity-building workshops provide a networking opportunity to share project information, initiate partnerships, share strategies to prevent HCV, and provide support to those who are infected/affected, thus demonstrating that the Program is helping to establish partnerships at the regional and local levels.

Community-based Support Projects

• 149 projects funded to date
• British Columbia - 27
• Alberta - 33
• Manitoba/Saskatchewan - 13
• Ontario - 36
• Quebec - 23
• Atlantic - 16
• Northern Secretariat - 1
  
  
• 132 resources or tools developed
• 92 training and skill development activities
• 77 information and awareness development activities
• 72 support activities
• 72 networking/partnership activities
• 64 activities to strengthen organizations
• 58 needs assessment activities

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*The partial funding of the VANDU project along with the case study of this organization provides some support for the description of a local prevention model; however, there was no documentation regarding how the results of the case study were disseminated or how the findings were used for strategic Program planning.

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