GesuHep
Evaluation of screening for hepatitis B and C virus infection as part of the general health check-up in GP practices
Background
According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 296 million people worldwide were carriers of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 59 million people were carriers of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 2019. In Germany, between 200 and 500 thousand people live with HBV and/or HCV and several thousand new infections with one of the two virus entities are recorded each year.
The WHO's declared goal is to reduce new HBV and HCV infections by up to 90% by 2030, to enable diagnosis in up to 90% of cases and to treat up to 80% of people chronically infected with HBV and HCV. A first step towards meeting these challenges is screening for HBV and HCV infection as part of health checks in the primary care setting in Germany.
Objectives
To date, there has been no evaluation of screening for HBV and HCV infection as part of the general health check-up in GP practices and therefore no scientific empiricism is currently available on the extent to which screening has already been implemented in GP practices.
The aim of GesuHep is to analyze the implementation of the newly introduced screening for HBV and HCV infections as part of the general health check-up in GP practices as an example for the federal state of Lower Saxony and to formulate empirically based recommendations for the further development of the practical implementation of the screening.
Methods
In the course of the project, a standardized questionnaire for the analysis of the implementation of the newly introduced screening for HBV and HCV infections as part of the general health examination will first be developed and tested by means of surveys before it is then collected in GP practices in Lower Saxony.
Based on this, an expert workshop will be organized and hosted. The experts will discuss possible support factors and barriers for the practical implementation of the screening and how the practical implementation of screening for HBV and HCV infection in GP practices can be further developed and optimized on the basis of the results then available.
Relevance of the expected results
The proposed "GesuHep" project will provide answers as to what experiences have been made so far from the perspective of GPs in the implementation of screening for HBV and HCV infection as part of the general health check-up in GP practices in Lower Saxony. Of interest are, among other things, which patients were screened, how often HBV and/or HCV infection was diagnosed and which further diagnostic and therapeutic measures were initiated. In addition, beneficial and obstructive aspects in the implementation of the screening are presented and practical recommendations for optimizing further implementation are generated.
Funding
The project is partially funded by Gilead Sciences GmbH for the 12-month term (start: 01.03.2023).
Publications
Bohnhorst A, Princk C, Stiel S, Afshar K. Screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in GP practices - a quantitative survey in Lower Saxony. Prev Gesundheitsf. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11553-024-01163-7
GesuHep Team
PD Dr. med. Kambiz Afshar (Project leader)
Prof. Dr. Dr. Stephanie Stiel (deputy project leader)
Christina Princk (Research Assistant)
Alina Bohnhorst (PhD student)
Address:
Hannover Medical School
Institute ofGeneral Medicine and Palliative Medicine
Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1
30625 Hanover