Grant: Project Grant

Hepatitis C (HCV) is the first curable chronic viral infection. Treatment is effective and prevents progressive liver disease and liver cancer, and yet it remains a public health threat leading to more life years lost than any other infectious disease in Ontario. This project builds on a 2025 CIHR-funded Catalyst project learning from 50 conversational interviews with First Nation people and healthcare team members and build capacity to address the identified enormous gap in HCV and liver disease awareness. Co-creation of awareness resources through storying, creative arts, and connection to culture is a priority aim in response to these findings as well as knowledge mobilization, as relevant awareness is key to both engaging in screening and in prevention. This project will co-design and pilot community-integrated pathways of care for liver wellness with embedded awareness, point-of-care screening options and linkage to care tailored to rural and urban First Nation contexts. This project also embeds Indigenous-led developmental evaluation with implementation science, we aim to better understand and facilitate what works, for whom, in what contexts, and why, to inform sustainable scale-up. In alignment with relational methodologies this Indigenous-led project leans into transdisciplinary partnerships, collaborations, reciprocity, relevance and respect through reflective strategies, community engagement and connection to space and place-based needs framing HCV and liver care within cultural wellness contexts to improve awareness and access to HCV screening.