1072. The Impact of Hepatitis C-Related Knowledge on Perceptions of Stigma Among Infected Individuals

BACKGROUND: Stigma is an important and understudied barrier to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treatment and elimination. Education to dispel disease-based myths and misinformation has been identified as a key intervention point to reduce disease-related stigma; however, the association between knowledge about HCV infection and perceptions of stigma among HCV-infected patients remains unknown. METHODS: To address this gap and evaluate the association between patient-level HCV knowledge and HCV-related stigma, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 270 HCV-infected patients (147 [56%] HIV-coinfected) from 5 clinics across Philadelphia. HCV-related stigma was measured using the validated 33-item HCV Stigma Scale (range, 33-132). HCV-related knowledge was measured via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) Hepatitis C Follow-up Survey (2003-2008), an eleven item True/False survey (range, 0 to 11) comprising statements about HCV-related health effects and transmission. The association between HCV knowledge and HCV-related stigma was evaluated via linear regression by HIV status. Self-reported demographic, behavioral, and clinical covariates were evaluated in adjusted analyses. RESULTS: The median overall HCV knowledge score was high at 9 out of 11 points (IQR, 9-10). Median knowledge scores did not significantly differ between HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected participants (10 versus 9; p=0.29). However, higher HCV knowledge scores were associated with higher HCV-related stigma score among HCV-monoinfected participants (p=0.03) but not among HCV/HIV-coinfected participants (p=0.12). Differences by HIV status were also observed when adjusting for demographic, behavioral, and clinical covariates. CONCLUSION: Regardless of HIV status, the majority of both HIV/HCV-coinfected and HCV-monoinfected participants in this study answered questions about HCV knowledge correctly. Surprisingly, greater HCV knowledge was associated with increased HCV-related stigma among HCV-monoinfected participants, but this association was not observed among coinfected participants. Additional studies are needed to understand why this association was observed only among monoinfected persons. DISCLOSURES: M. Elle Saine, PhD, MA, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics Research (Grant/Research Support)