Table 2.
Summary scores of the HCV knowledge and willingness to undergo HCV treatment scales amongst HCV positive people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada (n = 1192).
| Questionnaire Item | Mean (SD) | % answering “strongly agree” or “agree” |
|---|---|---|
|
HCV knowledge scale I know how HCV is transmitted |
4.09 (0.65) | 88.1% |
| Using clean needles, syringes and equipment reduces the risk of being infected with HCV | 4.30 (0.63) | 93.3% |
| People living with HCV must be careful about sharing toothbrushes or razors | 4.21 (0.61) | 91.7% |
| People living with HCV can live for many years without knowing they have it | 4.14 (0.61) | 88.8% |
| HCV can cause liver failure | 4.25 (0.51) | 93.1% |
| Once HCV has been cured, people could catch it again if they still share needles | 4.17 (0.55) | 88.0% |
| HCV treatment willingness scale | ||
| I would be willing to take treatment if it meant only taking pills and no injection | 3.29 (1.06) | 44.2% |
| I would be willing to consider starting treatment for HCV in the next year | 3.53 (1.08) | 53.5% |
| Other questionnaire items | ||
| I know a lot about hepatitis C in general | 3.57 (0.95) | 61.1% |
| My doctor has discussed treatment for hepatitis C with me | 3.50 (1.12) | 61.5% |
| Treatment for hepatitis C can cure the infection in most people | 3.78 (0.81) | 66.3% |
| Treatment for hepatitis C consists of a weekly injection and pills every daya | – | 51.3% |
| What I have heard about the side effects of treatment for hepatitis C scares me | 3.53 (1.03) | 56.9% |
| Treating my other illnesses would be more important than treating hepatitis C | 3.12 (1.08) | 31.0% |
SD: standard deviation. HCV: hepatitis C virus.
Where questionnaire scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Responses of not available, I don’t know or refusal to answer the question were removed from the analysis for each question.
a
Response recorded as true, false or I don’t know. Proportion answering true reported, calculation of mean not performed.