The RISE³ Lab is celebrating major funding news – Dr. Fontaine has secured his first CIHR project grant ($656,000) as a Nominated Principal Investigator for a project titled “Establishing the Framework for Decentralized Hepatitis C Point-of-Care Testing and Treatment in Canada: An Implementation Science-based Approach.”
With the advent of highly effective treatments, the World Health Organization and Canada have set a goal to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030. A major obstacle to increasing treatment in Canada is the current multi-step diagnostic process, leading to loss to follow-up, especially among high-risk groups like people who inject drugs. Rapid point-of-care tests administered by nurses, which offer results in one hour, enable single-visit diagnosis and treatment. However, integrating these tests into settings like needle and syringe programs presents challenges. Collaborating with 12 community organizations across British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, the four-year project will map care pathways, identify barriers, and co-design implementation strategies. This initiative, in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada, aims to create a framework for scaling up testing and achieving hepatitis C elimination.
The project involves a pan-Canadian team at McGill University, University Health Network, York University, University of Ottawa, Université de Montréal, UNSW Sydney and the BC Centre for Disease Control. It also involves collaborations with CATIE, the Canadian Association of Hepatology Nurses, the Public Health Agency of Canada | Agence de la santé publique du Canada, the Canadian Liver Foundation and the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C.