Increasing and sustaining blood-borne virus screening in Spain and Portugal throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-center quality improvement intervention.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Around 57,000 people in Spain and Portugal currently living with HIV or chronic hepatitis C are unaware of their infection. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted screening efforts for these infections. We designed an intervention to increase and sustain opportunistic blood-borne virus (BBV) screening and linkage to care (SLTC) by implementing the TEST model.

Methods

The Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) method of quality improvement (QI) was implemented in 8 healthcare organizations (HCOs), including four hospitals, two clusters of community health centers, and two community-based organizations (CBOs). Baseline assessment included a review of BBV SLTC practices, testing volume, and results 12 months before the intervention. Changes in BBV testing rates over time were me

SUBMITTER: Vaz-Pinto I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10847218 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature