ArticleDiscover public health2026
A study protocol for co-designing risk communication strategies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing among priority populations in Johannesburg district, Gauteng, South Africa.
Article in Discover public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a major public health challenge globally and in South Africa, particularly among key populations such as people who inject drugs (PWID), men who have sex with men (MSM), and sex workers. Despite the availability of curative direct-acting antivirals and point-of-care testing, HCV testing uptake remains suboptimal due to stigma, limited access to services, and ineffective risk communication. Evidence-informed, contextually relevant risk communication strategies are crucial to improve HCV testing uptake among priority populations. Aim: This study aims to co-design risk communication strategies to promote HCV testing among key populations in the Johannesburg District, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Methods: This study will employ a multi-phase, mixed-methods design guided by the Socio-Ecological Model and principles of Community-Based Participatory Research. Phase 1 will involve a scoping review to map evidence on barriers and facilitators to effective risk communication and HCV testing uptake. Phase 2 will use a cross-sectional design with a crowdsourcing approach to identify existing communication channels and tools. Phase 3 will apply participatory mapping with key stakeholders to co-design tailored HCV risk communication strategies. Phase 4 will use a discrete choice experiment to determine the most acceptable strategies. Data will be analysed thematically in ATLAS.ti and quantitatively in STATA. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee, and permission was granted by the Johannesburg Health District Research Committee. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, conference presentations, and community-friendly outputs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.