There is higher prevalence of hepatitis C among the prison population compared with the general public. Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through injecting drug use. With an absence of needle syringe programs in the prison setting, there is little opportunity for people who inject drugs in prison to protect against hepatitis C exposure, making testing and treatment critical for reducing prevalence among this population group. The PIVOT project aimed to evaluate a ‘one-stop shop’ approach with point-of-care HCV RNA testing, linkage to hepatitis care, non-invasive liver disease assessment, and same-visit direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment initiation, with an intent to improve efficiencies in HCV care in the ‘real-world’ high throughput of imprisonment, short stay, and release. Acceptability of hepatitis C testing and treatment at prison entry remained unclear.

This qualitative sub-study sought to inform whether point-of-care testing is acceptable to people in prison, health service staff, health management staff, and correctional staff, and to identify enablers to point-of-care HCV RNA testing scale up within the prison setting.