Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.
JMIR Form Res. 2024 Nov 1;8:e52729. doi: 10.2196/52729.
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have set ambitious hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination targets for 2030. Current estimates show that the United States is not on pace to meet elimination targets due to multiple patient, clinic, institutional, and societal level barriers that contribute to HCV testing and treatment gaps. Among these barriers are unawareness of testing and treatment needs, misinformation concerning adverse treatment reactions, need for substance use sobriety, and treatment efficacy. Strategies to improve viral hepatitis education are needed.
We aim to provide a high-quality HCV educational app for patients and health care workers, particularly nonprescriber staff. The app was vetted by health care providers and designed to guide users through the HCV testing and treatment stages in a self-exploratory way to promote engagement and knowledge retention. The app is comprised of five learning modules: (1) Testing for Hep C (hepatitis C), (2) Tests for Hep C Positive Patients, (3) Treatments Available to You, (4) What to Expect During Treatment, and (5) What to Expect After Treatment.
An HCV knowledge assessment survey was administered to providers and patients at the Yale School of Medicine and 11 Connecticut HIV clinics as part of a grant-funded activity. The survey findings and pilot testing feedback guided the app's design and content development. Data on app usage from November 2019 to November 2022 were analyzed, focusing on user demographics, engagement metrics, and module usage patterns.
There were 561 app users; 216 (38.5%) accessed the training modules of which 151 (69.9%) used the app for up to 60 minutes. Of them, 65 (30.1%) users used it for >60 minutes with a median time spent of 5 (IQR 2-8) minutes; the median time between initial accession and last use was 39 (IQR 18-60) days. Users accessed one or more modules and followed a nonsequential pattern of use: module 1: 163 (75.4%) users; module 4: 82 (38%); module 5: 67 (31%); module 3: 49 (22.7%); module 2: 41 (19%).
This app, created in an academic setting, is one of a few available in English and Spanish that provides content-vetted HCV education for patients and health care supportive staff. It offers the convenience of on-demand education, allowing users to access crucial information about HCV management and treatment in a self-directed fashion that acknowledges and promotes variable preferences in learning approaches. While app uptake was relatively limited, we propose that future efforts should focus on combined promotion efforts with marketing strategies experts aligned with academic experts. Incorporating ongoing user feedback and integrating personalized reminders and quizzes, will further enhance engagement, supporting the broader public health HCV elimination goals.
世界卫生组织和疾病控制与预防中心为 2030 年设定了雄心勃勃的丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 消除目标。目前的估计表明，由于多种患者、诊所、机构和社会层面的障碍导致 HCV 检测和治疗差距，美国没有达到消除目标。这些障碍包括对检测和治疗需求的认识不足、对不良反应治疗的误解、对物质使用清醒的需求以及对治疗效果的认识不足。需要采取措施改善病毒性肝炎教育。
我们旨在为患者和医疗保健工作者，特别是非处方工作人员提供高质量的 HCV 教育应用程序。该应用程序经过医疗保健提供者的审查，并旨在以自我探索的方式引导用户完成 HCV 检测和治疗阶段，以促进参与和知识保留。该应用程序由五个学习模块组成：(1) 检测丙型肝炎 (丙型肝炎)，(2) 检测丙型肝炎阳性患者，(3) 为您提供的治疗方法，(4) 治疗期间的预期，以及 (5) 治疗后的预期。
作为赠款资助活动的一部分，在耶鲁大学医学院和康涅狄格州的 11 个艾滋病毒诊所向医务人员和患者进行了 HCV 知识评估调查。调查结果和试点测试反馈指导了应用程序的设计和内容开发。对 2019 年 11 月至 2022 年 11 月期间的应用程序使用数据进行了分析，重点关注用户人口统计学、参与度指标和模块使用模式。
共有 561 名应用程序用户；其中 216 名（38.5%）访问了培训模块，其中 151 名（69.9%）使用该应用程序长达 60 分钟。其中，65 名（30.1%）用户使用超过 60 分钟，中位数时间为 5（IQR 2-8）分钟；初始访问和最后一次使用之间的中位数时间为 39（IQR 18-60）天。用户访问一个或多个模块，并遵循非顺序使用模式：模块 1：163 名（75.4%）用户；模块 4：82 名（38%）；模块 5：67 名（31%）；模块 3：49 名（22.7%）；模块 2：41 名（19%）。
这款应用程序由学术机构创建，是为数不多的提供经过内容审查的 HCV 教育的应用程序之一，适用于患者和医疗保健支持人员。它提供了按需教育的便利性，允许用户以自我指导的方式访问有关 HCV 管理和治疗的关键信息，同时承认并促进学习方法的不同偏好。尽管应用程序的采用相对有限，但我们建议未来的努力应侧重于与营销专家合作，结合学术专家的宣传策略。纳入持续的用户反馈并整合个性化的提醒和测验将进一步提高参与度，支持更广泛的 HCV 消除公共卫生目标。
