Expanding access to hepatitis C prevention, testing, and treatment in prisons: Recommendations from the INHSU 2022 Prisons Workshop

The Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE) and INHSU Prisons, a Special Interest Group of the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU), have published an overview of barriers and recommendations for hepatitis C prevention, testing, and treatment for persons who are incarcerated. This report is drawn from a workshop held in October of 2022 at the 10th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis Care in Substance Users in Glasgow, Scotland.

The new report summarizes the barriers to improved HCV care in prisons, as well as key recommendations as they were outlined in the Glasgow workshop. The workshop and subsequent report were divided into three sections. The first section sets the stage by providing the latest data on the epidemiology, the most current policy guidance, and an update on models of care for HCV in prisons. The second section presents best practices based on real-world experiences for overcoming particular challenges inhibiting access to HCV prevention, screening, and treatment services in prison settings. The third section presents case studies from a wide range of settings on advocacy strategies for addressing roadblocks in policy, financing, implementation, or general awareness to scaling up access to HCV care in prisons.

This new report, “Expanding access to hepatitis C prevention, testing, and treatment in prisons: Recommendations from the INHSU 2022 Prisons Workshop,” provides a comprehensive roadmap to for improving HCV care and treatment for persons who are incarcerated across diverse settings. The workshop model allowed for input from diverse stakeholders, including persons with lived experience of providing and receiving HCV care in the prison setting.