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Available literature indicates that clinical factors, social factors, personal values and knowledge are all important in determining whether or not people decide to have treatment for hepatitis C. Therefore this study sought to investigate a range of factors associated with making the decision to take up treatment. Additionally, to explore how Australian clients of Opiate Substitute Treatment (OST) centres made decisions about treatment, this study interviewed a sample of OST clients and health professionals in Sydney about their perceptions of a proposed model of delivery of treatment for hepatitis C through OST clinics.

Summary of findings

A qualitative study of both hepatitis C treatment experiences and the management of hepatitis C treatment, using in-depth semi-structured interviews, was conducted in Sydney, Australia, during 2004 and 2005. The study aimed to uncover some of the strategies that people in treatment deployed to cope with the side effects associated with treatment. A purposive sampling frame was used to recruit participants to the study. A total of 20 people who either were receiving treatment or had completed treatment within the six months prior to interview were recruited. Six health professionals who managed treatment regimens were also interviewed. Treatment and its side effects were explored from the perspectives of both patients and clinic staff. The impact of treatment on personal relationships, work, socialising, physical and emotional health and wellbeing, sense of self and future outlook were investigated. Thematic content analysis highlighted key issues reported by patients and health professionals regarding treatment experiences and approaches to treatment management., Monograph 4/2006

The report explores exigent conditions associated with living with hepatitis C infection. Intersecting these demands are the effects of stigma and social marginalisation. Many people with hepatitis C have to navigate and negotiate daily a field strewn with misinformation, conflicting identities and unequal power relations, often while labouring under significant ill-health and surviving on low incomes., Monograph 6/2003