Connect C

• Identify strategies to address regulatory and operational barriers in each jurisdiction
• Identify models for using notifications data effectively and in an acceptable manner
• Implement and evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives that use hepatitis C notifications data in each state and territory
• Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness modelling to identify sustainable approaches for using notification systems

2023-2026

Connect C aims to enhance the use of Hepatitis C notifications data in Australia to improve pathways to treatment and cure through three key phases.

Phase 1 – create an enabling environment. 

• In phase 1, research workshops will be undertaken with: 
  Government and local public health units to address regulatory and operational barriers.
• Community to assess intervention acceptability among people with lived experience of HCV and among people who inject drugs.
• Service providers to identify feasible strategies to support clinical services.

Phase 2 – implement and evaluate interventions

In phase 2, outcomes from phase 1, including shared cross-jurisdictional insights, will be used to design and implement appropriate intervention programs within each jurisdiction (to follow-up HCV notifications and guide patient care pathways). The interventions will be evaluated for their reach and effectiveness, and to identify the most effective strategies. 

Phase 3 - modelling and research translation

Phase 3 involves intervention impact analyses, epidemic modelling, and cost effectiveness modelling, to identify sustainable HCV treatment approaches using notifications data, and to enhance HCV treatment uptake Connect C will share learnings with community and help inform standards of practice that can be sustained.

A focused program aims to co-design interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, focusing on culturally safe approaches to HCV treatment in these communities and settings.

CONNECT C aims to help more people with HCV into care, treatment, and cure. 

By improving the role of HCV notification systems in supporting elimination efforts in Australia, CONNECT C seeks to increase the number of people who are followed-up (after an initial HCV-positive test) to ensure they know their HCV status, have access to care, and an opportunity to begin treatment. It will learn from affected communities about which interventions and strategies are the most effective and acceptable for using HCV notifications data to enhance rates of diagnosis, treatment and cure. It will help Australia get closer to its 2030 target of HCV elimination.