Patient-Reported Satisfaction and Associated Changes in Health and Behavior Pre- and Post- Project INSPIRE: a Comprehensive Hepatitis C Care Coordination Program

Abstract Background Individuals infected with hepatitis C (HCV) often present with co-morbidities and complex socio-behavioral risk factors. Project INSPIRE was a care coordination and telementoring demonstration project which aimed to treat and cure HCV-infected patients while providing them with services and education to improve overall health outcomes and self-sufficiency. We examined changes in HCV-related health and behavior associated with completion of Project INSPIRE (the “intervention”). Methods Patients were enrolled into Project INSPIRE at clinical sites where they received HCV clinical care paired with care coordination services. Baseline and post-intervention surveys were distributed to participants in-person at a clinical site and/or via mail at two time-points, one before and one after the intervention. Surveys were mailed back to the researchers by participants, and participant-identifying information was used to link survey responses to clinical data for each respondent. Logistic models using generalized estimating equations to account for partially overlapping observations examined the association between intervention participation and changes in self-reported overall health, emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations in the past 6 months, drug and alcohol use in the past 6 months, HCV knowledge, and general self-efficacy, adjusting for potential demographic and sociobehavioral confounding variables. Results The response rates for complete and partial surveys were 14.0% of 883 for baseline and 9.9% of 1,552 for post-intervention. In multivariable analyses (N=269, of which 50 were paired and 219 were unpaired), INSPIRE intervention participation was associated with a decreased odds of self-reported ED visits (OR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.20–0.57), hospitalizations (OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.16–0.57), alcohol use (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.18–0.69), and injection drug use (OR: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.02–0.34), and a 6.8% (CI: 1.6-12.2%) increase in reported self-efficacy (p=0.01). Conclusions Survey results suggest that INSPIRE successfully improved participant health behavior and self-efficacy, indicating the intervention’s value to patients, providers, and insurance companies beyond the immediate benefits of HCV treatment and cure. Participants also had a generally positive experience working with their care teams, indicating that further research should explore how an individualized care team can improve retention and patient referral rates compared with the HCV standard of care.