This month's article in "Innovations in Hepatitis Elimination" series is "Impact of COVID-19 Response on Hepatitis Prevention Care and Treatment: Results From Global Survey of Providers and Program Managers" from the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE).

From August to October 2020, CGHE surveyed clinicians and program managers to assess the mitigation strategies deployed to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission and the changes in access to hepatitis testing and treatment services. In this interview, Dr. Ward, Director of the Coalition, will review the key findings from the survey and also speak with some of the survey respondents who will describe their experience in delivering hepatitis services during the pandemic, including the challenges they faced and the mitigation strategies they found effective in maintaining access to care for their patients.

Survey respondents include: 

• Ashina Singh (USA) - Dr. Ashina Singh is a board-certified physician in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology with more than 11 years of experience. She completed a Fellowship in Gastro/Hepatology at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine in 2016 and then a Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center in 2017. Dr. Singh is particularly interested in liver disease in pregnant patients. She currently practices in Detroit, MI as an affiliate of the Henry Ford Health System. 
• Bernadette Lettner (Canada) - Bernadette Lettner is a treatment RN with the Toronto Community Hepatitis C Program (TCHCP). Bernadette has more than 12 years of clinical experience and currently supports treatment and care of individuals living with Hepatitis C who use drugs or alcohol, have a mental health issue, are currently homeless, or have HIV/HCV co-infections. 
• Rui Marinho (Portugal) - Dr. Rui Tato Marinho is the Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Saint Mary's Hospital and a Professor at the Medical School of Lisbon. He also serves as the President of Portuguese Society of Gastroenterology and an Advisor of the Governing Board for the European Liver Patient Association (ELPA). He has over 30 years of experience, more than 100 indexed publications, and received a Medal of Merit from the Portuguese Medical Association in 2015. Dr. Marinho's interests include viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and management of liver disease. 
• Wendy Spearman (South Africa) - Dr. Wendy Spearman is Head of the Division of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town. Her interests include viral hepatitis, liver transplantation and drug-induced liver injuries. Dr. Spearman earned her PhD in 2008 from the University of Cape Town. She is actively involved in outreach liver education programmes and has been running ECHO programs on Viral hepatitis in Sub-Saharan Africa, COVID-19 webinars and Clinical Hepatology teaching for Fellows.

Watch the webinar

Read the survey results article