19 March 2021
INHSU is excited to announce the winners of our Connecting with Care Competition. Open to entries globally, the competition recognises and celebrates innovative hepatitis C models of care for people who use drugs.
Our panel of experts has been working hard to choose the winners from the 70+ models of care submitted from countries across the globe. There are 12 winners in total – three from the UK & Europe, three from Middle East Asia & Africa, three from North America and three from Australia & New Zealand, and an overall winner in each region.
The overall winner for each region is:
- UK & Europe: NHS Tayside – Hepatitis C testing and treatment in community pharmacy
- Australia & New Zealand: Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney & Justice Health Forensic Mental Health Network – PIVOT model: a PoC one-stop-shop for prisons
- Middle East, Asia & Africa: Medecins du Monde – A peer-led approach of HCV services in a harm reduction setting in Myanmar
- North America: Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program – Care to cure: creative, coordinated support for homeless-experienced folks with HCV
All 12 winners will receive a complimentary registration to the 2021 INHSU conference and five annual memberships. We will also be working with them to bring their model of care to life through an infographic that will be promoted across INHSU’s network and 2021 conference.
“The standard of entries was exceptional,” says Jason Grebely, INHSU President. “It’s incredible to see how much diverse and innovative work is being done across the world to help people who use drugs access the HCV treatment and care needed. We are looking forward to showcasing these models of exemplary best practice. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to our winners.”
The competition forms part of Connecting with Care, an ongoing project led by INHSU that aims to inspire and educate the global hepatitis C community by sharing innovative case studies from every corner of the globe.
And the winners are…
| ORGANISATION | LOCATION | MODEL OF CARE |
| UK & EUROPE | ||
| NHS Tayside |
Scotland |
Hepatitis C testing and treatment in community pharmacy |
| The Hepatitis C Trust | England | Hepatitis C Trust Follow Me programme |
| Swansea Bay University Health Board | Wales | Prisons rapid access test and treat pathway |
| MIDDLE EAST, ASIA & AFRICA | ||
|
Medecins du Monde |
Myanmar | A peer-led approach of HCV services in a harm reduction setting in Myanmar |
|
Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney |
Iran | Hepatitis C micro-elimination in Rafsanjan, Iran |
| Burnet Institute | Myanmar | CT2 care model (Thingangyun Clinic) |
| NORTH AMERICA | ||
| Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program | USA | Care to cure: creative, coordinated support for homeless-experienced folks with HCV |
| Cool Aid Community Health Centre | Canada | Finding opportunities amid a global pandemic: Cool Aid Community Health Centre’s nurse-led hepatitis C micro-elimination program |
|
Central City Concern / Oregon Health and Sciences University
|
USA | The community-driven hepatitis C elimination project: Incentivizing people who use drugs to reverse the current on the HCV epidemic using dried blood spot testing |
| AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND | ||
| Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney & Justice Health Forensic Mental Health Network | Australia | PIVOT model: a PoC one-stop-shop for prisons |
| Kombi Clinic | Australia | Kombi Clinic |
| Queensland Injectors Health Network (QuIHN) | Australia | QuIHN hepatitis C treatment management program |
