Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health concern with the World Health Organization estimating 50 million people are living with chronic HCV. There are also an estimated one million new infections per year. In many countries globally, including Canada, people who inject drugs (PWID) are the main population group living with, and at risk of HCV. With targets to eliminate HCV as a public health concern by 2030, there is an urgent need more innovative, community-based and person-centered models of care. The availability of direct acting antivirals to treat HCV infection was a catalyst to allow nurses to play a leading role in the delivery of HCV care. However, while nurse-led HCV care is widely recognized as best practice, there is limited capacity in Canada, and globally, for nurses to play a leading role in the design, implementation and evaluation of models of care. Researchers, and particularly trainees and early career researchers often have limited interaction with front-line clinicians, including nurses. This limits the opportunity for two way knowledge exchange, mentorship and collaboration, with this often directed by senior physicians. To begin to address this, we will bring together nurses, trainees and early career researchers at the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users Conference in October 2026. We will hold an in-person half day workshop which will include didactic and interactive activities to build capacity, enable knowledge translation, develop new skills, and identify opportunities for mentoring and collaboration between nurses and researchers. This will also provide an opportunity for input into the planning of a larger grant focused on developing and implementing a program for nurses to become research leaders in HCV and other sexually transmissible and blood borne infections.