JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have set ambitious HCV elimination targets for 2030. Current estimates show the U.S. 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 a general lack of awareness for 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.

Objective:

Provide an interactive, high quality HCV educational application for patients and healthcare workers, particularly non-prescriber staff. The application was vetted by healthcare 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 application is comprised of five learning modules: 1-Testing for HCV; 2-Tests for HCV Positive Patients; 3-Treatments Available; 4-What to Expect During Treatment; 5-What to Expect After Treatment.

Methods:

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 application's design and content development. Data on application usage from November 2019 to November 2022 were analyzed, focusing on user demographics, engagement metrics, and module usage patterns.

Results:

There were 561 individual users who accessed the application; 216 (38.5%) accessed the training modules of which 151 (69.9%) used the application for up to 60 minutes. Of these, there were 65 (30.1%) who used it for >60 minutes with a median time spent of 5 minutes (IQR, 2-8 minutes); the median time between initial accession and last use was 39 days (IQR, 18-60 days). Users accessed one or more modules and followed a non-sequential pattern of use: Module 1, 163 (75%) users; Module 4, 82 (38%); Module 5, 67 (31%); Module 3, 49 (23%); Module 2, 41 (19%).

Conclusions:

This application, created in an academic setting, is one of a few available in English and Spanish that provides content-vetted HCV education for patients and healthcare 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 uptake of this application was relatively limited, we propose that future efforts should focus on combined promotion efforts with experts in marketing strategies aligned with academic experts. Incorporating ongoing user feedback and integrating interactive elements, such as personalized reminders and quizzes, will further enhance end-user engagement, supporting the broader public health HCV elimination goals.