Co-creating and implementing a novel pre-conference event to promote equity and inclusivity among academic researchers and people who use drugs.

This commentary draws on our experience organising a targeted networking event at the 10th International Conference on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, in Glasgow, Scotland in October 2022. The event, held the day before the conference, brought together people with lived and living experiences of drug use and early- and mid-career researchers on an equitable basis. We offer reflections, focussing on how the event promoted community-academic engagement from members of the respective groups. We provide recommendations for how conferences can organise to engage with people who use drugs-both those with lived and living experience and foster greater inclusion for all attendees.

Harm reduction and viral hepatitis C in European prisons: a cross-sectional survey of 25 countries.

BACKGROUND: Current estimates suggest that 15% of all prisoners worldwide are chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and this number is even higher in regions with high rates of injecting drug use. Although harm reduction services such as opioid substitution therapy (OST) and needle and syringe programs (NSPs) are effective in preventing the further spread of HCV and HIV, the extent to which these are available in prisons varies significantly across countries. METHODS: The Hep-CORE study surveyed liver patient groups from 25 European countries in 2016 and mid-2017 on national policies related to harm reduction, testing/screening, and treatment for HCV in prison settings. Results from the cross-sectional survey were compared to the data from available reports and the peer-reviewed literature to determine the overall degree to which European countries implement evidence-based HCV recommendations in prison settings. RESULTS: Patient groups in nine countries (36%) identified prisoners as a high-risk population target for HCV testing/screening. Twenty-one countries (84%) provide HCV treatment in prisons. However, the extent of coverage of these treatment programs varies widely. Two countries (8%) have NSPs officially available in prisons in all parts of the country. Eleven countries (44%) provide OST in prisons in all parts of the country without additional requirements. CONCLUSION: Despite the existence of evidence-based recommendations, infectious disease prevention measures such as harm reduction programs are inadequate in European prison settings. Harm reduction, HCV testing/screening, and treatment should be scaled up in prison settings in order to progress towards eliminating HCV as a public health threat.