This report outlines the findings of research with drug users and the staff that support them related to harms associated with chemsex, transactional sex; and the use of image and performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs).
Twos aims of the report were to describe the risk-taking behaviours in relation to drug taking, sexual health and transmission of BBV (blood borne virus) of the three target groups and inform the development of a training programme for services providers on sexual health and blood borne viruses for the three defined groups.
The Uncomfortable Truth. Hepatitis C in England: The State of the Nation
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Around 160,000 people in England have chronic hepatitis C, a preventable and treatable blood-borne virus that can lead to potentially fatal cirrhosis or cancer of the liver if left untreated. However, barriers to diagnosis, effective referral and treatment mean that many of these people are undiagnosed, and an increasing number are developing potentially fatal end stage liver disease.
Hepatitis C was acknowledged by the Department of Health as an overlooked ‘Cinderella’ disease almost a decade ago. It is a disease that disproportionately affects some of the most deprived and marginalised communities in England. But nearly ten years on, the disease continues to be overlooked and under-prioritised despite all national data sources showing that hepatitis C-related hospital admissions and deaths are increasing.
This report makes recommendations to improve prevention and awareness initiatives, to normalise testing and increase diagnoses, and to remove the barriers to treatment and care.
