Use of a Patient-Centered Electronic App to Increase ED Patient's Knowledge on HCV to Improve the HCV Care Continuum
Use of a Patient-Centered Electronic App to Increase ED Patient's Knowledge on HCV to Improve the HCV Care Continuum
The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled clinical trial study in an urban
 emergency department in Baltimore to determine the impact of an educational app which is
 based on Leventhal's Common-Sense Model of Illness Representations framework, on HCV-infected
 ED patient's hepatitis C virus (HCV) health belief and knowledge as well as the downstream
 outcomes of the HCV Continuum of Care (linkage to care rate, initiation of HCV antiviral
 treatment, and sustained virologic response). First, the investigators will develop a
 blueprinted prototype personalized HCV educational app which will (1) provide individualized
 liver fibrosis staging information, (2) pre-test HCV knowledge, perception of barriers to HCV
 care, and motivation to receive HCV care survey, (3) provide personalized HCV knowledge,
 facilitators and supporting information for HCV care via video clips and information sheets
 based on the pre-test results, and (4) provide post-test knowledge, perception, and
 motivation to receive HCV care. Second, the investigators will conduct a series of focus
 group discussion sessions to fine-tune the HCV educational app. Third, the investigators will
 enroll ED patients who have anti-HCV (newly diagnosed or previously diagnosed) but without
 HCV RNA testing information for a pilot randomized controlled clinical trial of the
 personalized HCV educational app.
An estimated 40-85% of 2.4 million Americans infected with HCV remain unaware of the
 infection. Further even amongst those aware of the HCV status, the vast majority do not get
 linked to care or are offered the option for treatment. Busy emergency department (ED)
 settings, which provide care to 140 million individuals each year, have recently been
 demonstrated to be a key venue for large-scale HCV testing, with outcomes from several large
 cities showing rates of disease of upwards of 10%. Significant challenges remain however, as
 linkage to care (LTC) from EDs has proven particularly elusive. National ED HCV LTC rates
 typically range from 20-40%, which dramatically restricts the overall impact on patient
 outcomes. Varied and complex factors contribute to these challenges but include both
 individual patient level factors, as well as social and health care infrastructure barriers.
 One critical but potentially mutable factor associated with gaps in LTC, that has yet to be
 systematically evaluated for ED populations, is the role of patient's comprehension of the
 'meaning' of patients' HCV diagnosis, which includes understanding the natural history of the
 disease, and the associated downstream health consequences of being infected. Placing HCV in
 the context of a patient based conceptual disease model provides a framework for studying
 knowledge gaps and misperceptions, which could be used to help improve patient engagement in
 care, and ultimately both clinical and public health outcomes. Leventhal's Common-Sense Model
 of Illness Representations provides a foundational framework for understanding an
 individual's belief and coping strategy to respond to his or her illness, with reliance on
 both concrete and abstract information (e.g. symptoms or acquired knowledge). For HCV,
 variables that may impact patient's engagement include a relative lack of urgency to receive
 care (due to the indolent nature of symptoms and often decades-long disease progression), a
 perception of ineffective treatment options (rooting from interferon therapy), and the
 perception of a relative low morbidity and mortality risk associated with HCV (versus e.g.
 HIV). Leveraging this Common-Sense Model theoretical framework, the investigators' research
 team proposes to design and evaluate the impact of a patient-centered HCV health belief
 conception framework for improving LTC interventions and the downstream HCV care continuum.
 Individualized risk information will be delivered in a patient-centric manner in the ED,
 gathering easily obtainable data that has proven to predict progression (i.e. Fibrosis-4
 score). The investigators propose to first conduct a series of 3 focus group discussion
 sessions for participants to provide constructive comments and suggestions on the prototype
 of the personalized HCV educational app which has been blueprinted and is currently under
 development. This will be followed by development and pilot testing of a personalized
 patient-centered tablet-facilitated HCV educational program app, focusing on improving
 patient knowledge regarding HCV in real-time (including using and ED-based fibrosis staging
 service from precision medicine perspective). The patient informed staging service will
 include an estimated non-invasive Fibrosis-4 score; a serum fibrosis marker index (includes
 age, platelet count, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
 values). The investigators hypothesize that providing individualized HCV disease progression
 staging information to ED patients, along with a structured educational LTC program to
 HCV-infected patients during patients' ED visit, will significantly change patient's health
 beliefs and perceptions of HCV, and motivate patients to achieve improved rates of LTC,
 retention in care, anti-viral treatment, and sustained virologic response along the HCV care
 cascade.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Johns Hopkins Hospital ED patient

 -  18 years or older

 -  HCV positive without HCV RNA information

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Younger than 18 years of age

 -  Unable to provide informed consent

 -  Altered mental status

 -  Incarcerated

 -  Critically ill