. 2019 Oct 28;19:765. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4635-7

Table 4.

Summary of key findings, outcomes and strength of evidence

Outcome	Study designs/ No. Studies	Findings and Direction of Effect	GRAD E[21]
1. Uptake of HCV treatment	RCT – 2 Cohort – 3 Observational – 5	Two RCTs assessed as having low risk of bias reported a positive effect on uptake with precision and a consistent positive direction of effect. One cohort study assessed as having medium-grade study limitations also reported a positive effect on uptake.	Medium
2. Completion of Treatment	Cohort - 1 Observational - 2	One cohort study with medium study limitations reported a positive direction of effect on uptake.	Low
3. Sustained Viral Response at 12 weeks (%)(SVR12)	RCT −2 Cohort - 4 Observational - 11	Two RCTs assessed as having low risk of bias reported a positive effect on SVR but were imprecise in the estimate of effect size. Four cohort studies and 11 observational studies with over 10,000 participants all reported a consistent positive direction of effect, but with significant study limitations.	Medium

Outcome

Study designs/
No. Studies

Findings and Direction of Effect

GRAD E[21]

1. Uptake of HCV treatment

RCT – 2

Cohort – 3

Observational – 5

Two RCTs assessed as having low risk of bias reported a positive effect on uptake with precision and a consistent positive direction of effect. One cohort study assessed as having medium-grade study limitations also reported a positive effect on uptake.

Medium

2. Completion of Treatment

Cohort - 1

Observational - 2

One cohort study with medium study limitations reported a positive direction of effect on uptake.

Low

3. Sustained Viral Response at 12 weeks (%)(SVR12)

RCT −2

Cohort - 4

Observational - 11

Two RCTs assessed as having low risk of bias reported a positive effect on SVR but were imprecise in the estimate of effect size. Four cohort studies and 11 observational studies with over 10,000 participants all reported a consistent positive direction of effect, but with significant study limitations.

Medium