Psychoeducation for Hepatitis and Alcohol Behaviors

This study aims to evaluate the utility of a psychosocial intervention (PsychoEducation Responsive to Families; PERF), applied to help patients prepare for and sustain HCV treatment in the treatment setting. Through careful psychiatric diagnosis and multiple longitudinal assessments, this study will also shed further light on the course of comorbid alcohol use, drug use, and other psychiatric syndromes and their interrelationships. The proposed study combines an innovative psychoeducation program with traditional HCV patient care and education. The goal of this work is to improve treatment adherence, allowing individual drug regimens to achieve their optimal effectiveness and reach a wider patient population. Support and sustenance of patients from a psychosocial perspective while they are in treatment should also help deliver more patients to sustained suppression of HCV as well as help presently untreated patients and populations become candidates for this therapy-ultimately reducing the disease burden of increasing numbers of patients needing liver transplantation or facing imminent death.