Why do some people with hepatitis C continue to drink alcohol?

Alcohol use is the strongest known modifiable determinant of HCV disease progression. Alcohol consumption has been found to raise the viral load and accelerate hepatic fibrosis in the context of HCV infection, and heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor for premature death from HCV. Moreover, as well as impacting on liver disease progression, heavy alcohol use may influence the likelihood of successful HCV treatment. The proposed project involves in-depth interviews with up to 25 consenting participants living with HCV from the Melbourne Injecting Cohort Study (SuperMIX). Interviews will address alcohol use and other related exposures and outcomes, including participants’ alcohol consumption prior to and after HCV diagnosis, any medical advice regarding alcohol consumption they may have received, advice from peers with HCV regarding alcohol consumption, perception of alcohol consumption practices amongst peers with HCV, participants’ understanding of the relationship between alcohol-related and injecting drug use-related behaviours, clinical symptoms and other effects of HCV on relationships and self-perception, current self-management strategies for living with HCV. There is also the possibility for this to be a mixed methods project where analysis of the SuperMIX survey data can also be conducted. This includes alcohol use in past month.