Overview
The mission of Hep C Prevention in Youth is to assist and empower youth and community organizations to prevent Hepatitis C infection among young people.
The initiative is composed of two working groups: 1) a network of community partners from harm reduction and youth organizations 2) an internship program with ten interns from NYC colleges.
A powerful student PSA about the prescription drug and heroin epidemic. The face of today’s heroin addict is quite different from years ago. The national age of overdosing is between 18-25. The impact of Hep C is emerging.
Resources
Tools & Interventions
- Rapid Teen Substance Use Screening Tool for Clinicians. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
- Staying Safe. National Development Research Institutes. Reducing HCV infection in injection drug users.
- Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens and Drugs. Drug Policy Alliance. Provides parents with the tools needed to evaluate and discuss strategies for protecting their teenagers from drug abuse.
- Opioid Analgesic Action Kit. NYC Health Dept. Provider and patient resources to help health care providers decrease opioid analgesic misuse and its health consequences.
- NYC Youth Addiction Treatment. NYC Health Dept. Pharmacotherapy sites offering buprenorphine or methadone treatment for young people ages 14-24.
Site Locators
- 1-800-LIFENET offer a 24-hour crisis hotline and referrals for mental health and substance abuse treatment in NYC.
- Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator (SAMHSA) National Database
- Buprenorphine Physician and Treatment Locator (SAMHSA)
- Expanded Syringe Access Program Pharmacies (ESAP)
Programs & Coalitions
- Injection Drug Users Health Alliance
- Safe Horizon: Street Works. Syringe exchange program for youth
- User to User: Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange NYC. Harm Reduction Coalition
- Tackling Youth Substance Abuse Initiative (Staten Island)
Research & Presentations
- Hepatitis C Surveillance among Youth and Young Adults in NYC, 2009–2013. J Urban Health, 2014.
- Injection Risk Behaviors Associated with Non-medical Use of Prescription Opioids Among Young Adults in NYC. Pedro Mateu-Gelabert, PhD, National Development and Research Institutes.
- Strategies for Preventing HCV among Persons Who Inject Drugs. Focus on prescription opioid analgesics. Jon E. Zibbell, PhD, CDC.
- Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Young Drug Users. What Can Viral Hepatitis Coordinators and Health Departments Do? Dan Church, Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
- Hepatitis C Among Youth in NYC: The Pharmacist’s Role in Prevention About ESAP and risks of Hep C in youth.
- Characterizing adolescent prescription misusers: a population-based study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Jul 2008.
- Increasing Hepatitis C Prevalence and Associated Risk Behaviors among Incarcerated Young Adults. J Urban Health. Apr 2014.
Reports & Fact Sheets
- Technical Consultation Report | HCV in Young Persons Who Inject Drugs. HHS.
- MMWR | Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Adolescents and Young Adults — Massachusetts, 2002—2009. CDC MMWR.
- Clinical Guidelines | Primary Care Behavioral Interventions to Reduce Illicit Drug and Nonmedical Pharmaceutical Use in Children and Adolescents: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement.
- Fact Sheet | Young people who inject drugs are increasing in the United States. Center for Drug Use & HIV Research (CDUHR).
- CDC | Viral Hepatitis and Young Persons Who Inject Prescription Opioids and Heroin
Select Publications
Technical Consultation Report
Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Young Persons Who Inject Drugs
CVAR YPWID Fact Sheet
CDUHR Fact Sheet – National Institute on Drug Abuse
Palm Card
Palm Card | Reduce Your Risk of Overdose, Hep C and HIV (PDF) [Español] [Русский]
Advocacy & Outreach Projects
Blood to Blood PSA: NYS DOH Campaign Targeting Youth. Video PSA & printed material available to order for free.
PSA | Hep C Prevention for Young People Who Inject. Harm Reduction Coalition. (Watch more videos on user health here).
PSA | “Didn’t Think It Could Happen To You.” NY State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
