Hepatitis C and its Treatment Qualitative Insights into

Hepatitis C and its Treatment: Qualitative Insights into the Contemporary Lived Experience DAVID WHITELEY PHD RESEARCH STUDENT EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY 40103813@LIVE. NAPIER. AC. UK OR DWHITELEY@NHS. NET

SCHWARZINER M et al. The confounding role of severe comorbidities and alcohol use disorders on prognosis in chronic hepatitis C virus infection: an analysis of the 2008 -2012 French national hospital discharge database Abstract G 16, 50 th International Liver Congress, Vienna 2015 “I tried to give up drugs by drinking” • Alcohol plays a major and underappreciated role in the morbidity of those infected with HCV. • People with HCV 6 times more likely to have an alcohol use disorder than other hospitalised patients • 46% of all liver-related events in people with HCV occurred in those with alcohol use disorders

A Brief History of Hepatitis C Evolution of HCV Therapy (Early 1990's to Present Day) 100% 90% 80% SVR (Cure) Rate 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% IFN 24 w Early 1990’s IFN 48 w IFN/RBV 24 w IFN/RBV 48 w PEG-IFN/RBV + PI Early 2000’s IFN-Free Regimes 2015

Research Aim & Questions AIM: To provide contemporary insights into hepatitis C and its treatment, within the context of a significantly improved cure. 1) What is the lived experience of HCV, amongst those both accessing and not accessing HCV treatment services? 2) How adequate do theories of chronic illness remain to the contextual understanding of the experience of living with HCV? 3) What is the lived experience of individuals undergoing HCV treatment with recently licensed direct acting antivirals?

Progress…