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Programs and Services Press Releases
Hepatitis C
Prevention Support & Research Program
(60 Kb) or HTML
Health Canada's hepatitis C website is a Canadian
resource for those infected with and affected by hepatitis C. It
is the result of the Canadian government's mandate to provide Canadians
with a trustworthy source of information and community support for
all those who are affected by this disease. Health Canada's hepatitis
C's website provides information and support 24 hours a day. Please
use it and tell others about it.
Background
There have been several important commitments made by the federal
government in the area of hepatitis C infection, including preventing
infection, treating and caring for those infected with this virus.
In September, 1998, the federal government announced initiatives
to provide better hepatitis C disease prevention and treatment,
to significantly strengthen blood safety, and to help all Canadians
infected with the hepatitis C virus.
Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research Program
Following the Minister's announcement, Health Canada staff were
assigned the task of designing, implementing and managing the new
hepatitis C program. The Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research
Program, which provides the basis for a federal response to hepatitis
C, is part of the new Hepatitis C Division located within Health
Canada's Population and Public Health Branch (PPHB).
Consultations with Canadians were instrumental in helping the Division
design a federal program which both fulfills Health Canada's commitments
and meets the needs identified by groups and individuals. In partnership
with stakeholders, goals and guiding principles were developed to
assist in the design and implementation of the new federal program.
The goals of the Program are to:
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contribute to the prevention of
hepatitis C infection |
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promote the development and availability
of tools and mechanisms in support of persons infected with
or affected by hepatitis C |
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provide a stronger evidence base
for hepatitis C policy and programming decisions and advance
prevention, treatment and cure options by expanding the body
of available research and research capacity |
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strengthen the response of the
Canadian population to hepatitis C through increased awareness
and capacity |
Program Components
The Program is divided into five major components which are described
in detail below.
Prevention
This component includes targeted programming aimed at preventing
the transmission of hepatitis C among those who are currently uninfected,
particularly those who are at high risk, such as injection drug
users. Programming is also targeted at those people who face marginal
risk such as health care workers and partners of hepatitis C-positive
individuals.
In collaboration with key sectors and institutions in Canadian society
such as community groups serving marginalized populations, addictions
agencies and health care practitioners, Health Canada will improve
the general public's awareness and knowledge of hepatitis C and
contribute to efforts to prevent its spread in Canada.
Some of the activities under this component of the Program include:
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the development of tools, training
and information materials to support national, regional and
local prevention activities |
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activities which build the skills
of those who are at greatest risk to reduce their vulnerability
to infection by encouraging them to adopt risk reduction behaviours
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funding pilot projects and programs,
evaluating their effectiveness and sharing results with others
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Care and Treatment Support
National-level activities under this component of the Program support
the needs of those who are already infected with or affected by
hepatitis C. These activities contribute to enhancing the health
and well-being of these persons by delaying the progression of the
disease and improving their awareness of and access to the care,
treatment and support that they require. As in other components,
building the commitment and capacity of key organizations and institutions
to provide better care, treatment and support is critical to the
success of this part of the Program.
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educating and training professionals
and non-professionals |
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producing treatment guidelines
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generating public awareness |
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disseminating information |
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developing networks |
Community-Based Support
This component includes programming to support both a strong community-based
response to the needs of persons infected with or affected by hepatitis
C, as well as a strong role for community organizations in the Hepatitis
C Prevention, Support and Research Program. The activities of this
component will contribute to gaining a better understanding of the
nature and effects of hepatitis C infection and how communities
can provide support to those who are infected with or at increased
risk of hepatitis C infection.
This component will strengthen links between organizations through:
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funding and capacity-building
support for organizations and initiatives on behalf of persons
infected with, affected by and at risk of hepatitis C infection
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funding support for the development
and evaluation of community-based programming which responds
to the needs of those who are infected with, affected by or
at risk of hepatitis C infection |
Research
Research is required to bridge the gap between what is currently
known about hepatitis C and what needs to be known to be effective
in prevention and treatment. The goal of this component is to further
hepatitis C related knowledge, to transfer and disseminate it, and
to apply research findings to the activities taking place under
other components of the Program.
The following are some of the activities that are supported under
the research component:
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furthering the development of
Canada's research capacity by supporting investigator-initiated
research and training scientists to work in the field of hepatitis
C research |
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encouraging research workshops
and conferences to promote research activities and identify
priorities |
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continuing to identify and respond
to emerging and changing priorities |
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working together with partners
to identify other sources of funding to advance hepatitis C
research |
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communicating the results of research
so that all may benefit from the new knowledge |
Management, Policy, Evaluation, Public
Involvement and Emerging Priorities
Health Canada is undertaking several activities to ensure that the
Program is well-managed, that it is coordinated with others who
are interested and involved, and that the Program is transparent
and accountable for the effective use of the resources devoted to
it. Specific activities under this component include:
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developing strategic partnerships
to support and advance the Program's goals |
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communicating with interested
parties and the general public about the Program |
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keeping the Program flexible so
that it can adapt its priorities to emerging needs as new knowledge
is gained about hepatitis C |
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conducting a mid-term and five
year review of the Program |
The management activity provides the leadership
for the overall Program. This is the focal point for international
linkages and inter-sectoral partnerships and collaborations. To
assist in this endeavour, an advisory body has been formed consisting
of stakeholder groups and representatives from the Hepatitis C Prevention,
Support and Research Program. The objectives of the Program Advisory
Group (PAG) are to:
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assist the program management
team with direction setting |
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foster citizen engagement in the
implementation of the Program |
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ensure complementarity and coordination
of key sectors, organizations and institutions assuming responsibilities
and/or taking initiatives relevant to the Program's objectives
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