New Study Findings from New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Illuminate Research in Hepatitis (Facilitators and barriers to accessing hepatitis B care in the postpartum period among foreign-born New Yorkers: a qualitative …): Liver Diseases and Conditions – Hepatitis

2024 JAN 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in hepatitis. According to news reporting from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Approximately 241,000 people are living with hepatitis B in New York City. Among those living with hepatitis B, pregnant people are particularly at risk for elevated viral load due to changes in immune response and require prompt linkage to health care.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: “The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Viral Hepatitis Program implemented a telephone-based patient navigation intervention for people living with hepatitis B in the postpartum period to connect them with hepatitis B care. During the intervention, patient navigators called participants to inquire about their past experience with receiving care, available supports, and barriers to care, and worked with them to develop a plan with participants for linkage to hepatitis B care. The information collected during initial assessments and follow-up interactions were recorded as case notes. In this qualitative study, researchers conducted a thematic analysis of 102 sets of case notes to examine facilitators and barriers to accessing hepatitis B care among the intervention participants, all of whom were foreign-born and interested in receiving hepatitis B patient navigation services. The qualitative analysis illustrated the various ways in which patient navigators supported access to hepatitis B care. Findings suggest that receiving care through a preferred provider was a central factor in accessing care, even in the presence of significant barriers such as loss of health insurance and lack of childcare during appointments. Expectations among family members about hepatitis B screening, vaccination and routine clinical follow up were also identified as a facilitator that contributed to participants’ own care.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “This study suggests that while there are numerous barriers at the personal and systemic levels, this patient navigation intervention along with the identified facilitators supported people in accessing hepatitis B care. Other patient navigation initiatives can incorporate the lessons from this analysis to support people in connecting to a preferred provider.”

For more information on this research see: Facilitators and barriers to accessing hepatitis B care in the postpartum period among foreign-born New Yorkers: a qualitative analysis of case notes. BMC Public Health, 2024,24(1):1-14. (BMC Public Health - http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com). The publisher for BMC Public Health is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16971-3.

Our news journalists report that more information may be obtained by contacting Liz Y. Tang, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)