Plant Aaron, Snow Emerald G, Montoya Jorge A, Young Sean, Javanbakht Marjan, Klausner Jeffrey D
Sentient Research, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA.
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Health Promot Pract. 2020 Sep;21(5):780-790. doi: 10.1177/1524839919833987. Epub 2019 Mar 10.
Individuals born between 1945 and 1965 ("baby boomers") account for an estimated three quarters of all hepatitis C (HCV) infections in the United States. This article describes the evaluation of Test4HepC, a program that uses social media and a website to promote HCV testing to baby boomers in Los Angeles County, California. The first 16 months of Test4HepC were evaluated using an online survey (n = 302), qualitative interviews (n = 20), website and social media analytics, and records of free testing offered though the program. Test4HepC.org had 6,919 visitors; 48 individuals used the free testing offered. Within 1 month of visiting the website, 24.5% (74) of survey participants tested for HCV, 67.6% (50) received a negative HCV antibody test result, 2.7% (2) received a positive HCV antibody test result, and 25.7% (19) had not received their results as of taking the survey. Most of those not tested (60.5%) reported intention to test. In multivariable analysis, male sex and high perceived usefulness of the program website were associated with HCV testing. Qualitative interviews suggested that Test4HepC increased baby boomers' HCV risk perception and encouraged testing. Social media is a promising strategy for promoting HCV testing to baby boomers. Expanding Test4HepC to other areas and prioritizing the highest risk baby boomers could enable many people with HCV to benefit from new treatments.
出生于1945年至1965年之间的人（“婴儿潮一代”）估计占美国所有丙型肝炎（HCV）感染病例的四分之三。本文介绍了对Test4HepC项目的评估，该项目利用社交媒体和网站向加利福尼亚州洛杉矶县的婴儿潮一代推广HCV检测。通过在线调查（n = 302）、定性访谈（n = 20）、网站和社交媒体分析以及该项目提供的免费检测记录，对Test4HepC的前16个月进行了评估。Test4HepC.org网站有6919名访客；48人使用了提供的免费检测。在访问该网站后的1个月内，24.5%（74人）的调查参与者进行了HCV检测，67.6%（50人）的HCV抗体检测结果为阴性，2.7%（2人）的HCV抗体检测结果为阳性，25.7%（19人）在进行调查时尚未收到检测结果。大多数未进行检测的人（60.5%）表示有检测意愿。在多变量分析中，男性以及认为该项目网站非常有用与进行HCV检测相关。定性访谈表明，Test4HepC提高了婴儿潮一代对HCV风险的认知并鼓励了检测。社交媒体是向婴儿潮一代推广HCV检测的一种有前景的策略。将Test4HepC扩展到其他地区并优先考虑风险最高的婴儿潮一代，可能会使许多HCV感染者受益于新的治疗方法。
