Integrating Screening for HCV and HIV

This one-day training will prepare participants to offer integrated rapid screening for HIV and HCV in a community setting.  It will provide basic information about hepatitis C transmission, epidemiology, spectrum of illness, diagnosis and treatment.  By participating in the training, participants will learn how to deliver HIV and HCV pre and post test messages in a seamless, integrated fashion and will learn about referrals that are essential for people who test positive for HCV antibodies.

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

Recall basic information about hepatitis C transmission, epidemiology spectrum of illness and treatment;

Deliver integrated prevention messages for HIV and HCV;

Explain to clients the value of being tested for HIV and HCV during the same visit;

Deliver integrated HIV and HCV pre and post test messages to clients;

Describe to a patient or client the meaning of a positive, negative or indeterminate HCV rapid antibody screening; and

Refer clients with a positive HCV screening for further medical care including testing to determine if the person has chronic infection with HCV

Prerequisite: Although there is no prerequisite for this training, it is strongly recommended that participants have previous training in HIV testing.
Audience: Experienced health and human service providers that conduct rapid HIV screening and plan to expand the offer of services to include rapid HCV screening.
Winter 2011 Dates: March 29, 2012 (9am-5pm) Hawthorne