Sendero Health Plans Inc. Researchers Provide New Study Findings on COVID-19 (Hepatitis C Virus Screening among Baby Boomers: The Positive Benefits of Health Education and Outreach during the COVID-19 Pandemic): Coronavirus – COVID-19

2023 FEB 23 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on COVID-19. According to news reporting originating from Austin, Texas, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Sendero Health Plans, an ACA health insurance company, implemented Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) health education and outreach screening campaigns.”

The news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Sendero Health Plans Inc.: “Chi-square goodness-of-fit and tests of independence were performed to assess and compare the uptake of HCV screening among baby boomers in 2019, 2020, and 2021. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, 17.9% (308/1,718), 10.9% (93/852), and 8.5% (37/435) of eligible members were screened, respectively. Individuals were more likely to be screened for HCV in 2019 than in 2020 and 2021 (* * p* * < 0.0001). In 2019, 2020, and 2021, 39.9%, 26.9%, and 48.6% of annual screenings occurred during the health campaign months, respectively. Annual HCV screening rates were lower during the COVID-19 pandemic period than in the pre-pandemic cohort. However, screening rates during the months of outreach and education contributed to nearly 50% of annual screenings in the pandemic year 2021, thus representing a positive impact on preventive screening uptake despite the pandemic.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Missed screening opportunities affect HCV transmission, diagnosis, and treatment. Yet, health education and outreach continue to work, even during a pandemic.”

For more information on this research see: Hepatitis C Virus Screening among Baby Boomers: The Positive Benefits of Health Education and Outreach during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare, 2023,11(302):302. (Healthcare - http://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare). The publisher for Healthcare is MDPI AG.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11030302.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Carlos Lopez Bray, Office of Population Health, Sendero Health Plans Inc., Austin, TX 78741, United States. Additional authors for this research include Richard Taylor, Naomi Tamez, Wesley Durkalski, John R. Litaker.

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