Cargando…
Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia
BACKGROUND: Georgia is leading one of the world’s first hepatitis C (HCV) elimination programs alongside interventions to combat a HIV epidemic concentrated among high-risk groups. Although progress has been substantial, neither strategy accounts for the nearly 150,000 internally displaced persons r...
Autor principal: | |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Ubiquity Press
2020
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7319078/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32607311 http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2671 |
_version_ | 1783550982885474304 |
---|---|
author | Elbaz, Joshua |
author_facet | Elbaz, Joshua |
author_sort | Elbaz, Joshua |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Georgia is leading one of the world’s first hepatitis C (HCV) elimination programs alongside interventions to combat a HIV epidemic concentrated among high-risk groups. Although progress has been substantial, neither strategy accounts for the nearly 150,000 internally displaced persons residing in collective centers (CC-IDPs) who are susceptible to deeply integrated risk environments that could promote infection. Achieving dedicated goals for HCV elimination and HIV suppression requires a clear understanding of the risks facing CC-IDPs. OBJECTIVES: This literature review aims to consolidate what is known about the socio-economic and physical/mental health status of IDPs living in collective centers in Georgia, and to assess their vulnerability to HIV and HCV in light of local and global epidemiological trends. METHODS: Sources were compiled from journal publications, reports by government ministries and transnational organizations, and the Integrated Household Survey database (2009–2018; updated annually by the National Statistics Office of Georgia) through manual searches in PUBMED, Google Scholar and Search, ProQuest, and digital repositories of government offices. FINDINGS: Reports indicate that CC-IDPs are more susceptible to poverty, poor living conditions, mental illness, disability, substance use, and in some cases infectious disease; although, the correlation is not always present and subject to variability. These factors were linked to increased transmission and acquisition of HIV/HCV in both displacement and non-displacement contexts abroad. The geographic concentration of HIV/HCV in areas with greater clusters of CC-IDPs, and shared characteristics with local high-risk groups, indicate the possibility of inordinate transmission among CC-IDPs in Georgia. CONCLUSIONS: The disproportionate prevalence of psychosocial and clinical harms among CC-IDPs testifies to the serious potential of a greater burden of HIV and hepatitis C. Going forward, targeted research is needed to inform interventions and clarify the health status of CC-IDPs in Georgia. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7319078 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | Ubiquity Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-73190782020-06-29 Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia Elbaz, Joshua Ann Glob Health Review BACKGROUND: Georgia is leading one of the world’s first hepatitis C (HCV) elimination programs alongside interventions to combat a HIV epidemic concentrated among high-risk groups. Although progress has been substantial, neither strategy accounts for the nearly 150,000 internally displaced persons residing in collective centers (CC-IDPs) who are susceptible to deeply integrated risk environments that could promote infection. Achieving dedicated goals for HCV elimination and HIV suppression requires a clear understanding of the risks facing CC-IDPs. OBJECTIVES: This literature review aims to consolidate what is known about the socio-economic and physical/mental health status of IDPs living in collective centers in Georgia, and to assess their vulnerability to HIV and HCV in light of local and global epidemiological trends. METHODS: Sources were compiled from journal publications, reports by government ministries and transnational organizations, and the Integrated Household Survey database (2009–2018; updated annually by the National Statistics Office of Georgia) through manual searches in PUBMED, Google Scholar and Search, ProQuest, and digital repositories of government offices. FINDINGS: Reports indicate that CC-IDPs are more susceptible to poverty, poor living conditions, mental illness, disability, substance use, and in some cases infectious disease; although, the correlation is not always present and subject to variability. These factors were linked to increased transmission and acquisition of HIV/HCV in both displacement and non-displacement contexts abroad. The geographic concentration of HIV/HCV in areas with greater clusters of CC-IDPs, and shared characteristics with local high-risk groups, indicate the possibility of inordinate transmission among CC-IDPs in Georgia. CONCLUSIONS: The disproportionate prevalence of psychosocial and clinical harms among CC-IDPs testifies to the serious potential of a greater burden of HIV and hepatitis C. Going forward, targeted research is needed to inform interventions and clarify the health status of CC-IDPs in Georgia. Ubiquity Press 2020-06-24 /pmc/articles/PMC7319078/ /pubmed/32607311 http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2671 Text en Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
spellingShingle | Review Elbaz, Joshua Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia |
title | Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia |
title_full | Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia |
title_fullStr | Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia |
title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia |
title_short | Assessing the Risk of HIV and Hepatitis C among Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia |
title_sort | assessing the risk of hiv and hepatitis c among internally displaced persons in georgia |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7319078/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32607311 http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2671 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT elbazjoshua assessingtheriskofhivandhepatitiscamonginternallydisplacedpersonsingeorgia |