Colorado Viral Hepatitis Elimination Strategic Plan

Colorado Viral Hepatitis Elimination Strategic Plan (PDF)

Viral hepatitis is a serious public health crisis in the United States and Colorado.

In order to develop a plan to eliminate viral hepatitis, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) launched the Viral Hepatitis Elimination Coalition (the Coalition) in June 2022. The Coalition worked together over the course of two years and eight months to develop a focused, evidence-based five-year strategic plan which includes four strategies and six to ten priority activities for each strategy. The Strategic Plan is designed to provide guidance to the Coalition, CDPHE, and other stakeholders on how they can best support efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis in Colorado.

The Strategic Plan will continue to evolve and be refined as new resources, opportunities, and emerging issues arise which impact communities burdened by viral hepatitis. The Strategic Plan aligns broadly with the federal Health and Human Services’ Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Elimination as well as the World Health Organization goals to eliminate the public health burden of viral hepatitis by 2030.

Vision

We will prevent new cases of viral hepatitis and fulfill the health needs of people living with viral hepatitis.

Strategies

In pursuit of this vision, we will focus on the following strategies and activities:

1. Strategy: Foster Fair Resource Allocation & Expansion, Accessibility, and Integration of Services
   The Coalition will prioritize the unique needs of communities and populations most impacted by the burden of viral hepatitis, including people who use drugs, people experiencing homelessness, justice-involved individuals, immigrant communities, rural communities, and Black, Indigenous, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and Latinx communities. In addition, we will seek to ensure that services to prevent, diagnose, treat, and vaccinate against viral hepatitis are widely available, easily accessible, high quality, and provided in coordination with other health and social services, including harm reduction, housing, post-incarceration re-entry, primary and perinatal care, and substance use treatment.
    
2. Strategy: Increase Awareness
   The Coalition will increase awareness through marketing and educational efforts for priority populations, healthcare providers, and the general public to decrease stigma and improve knowledge of viral hepatitis, increase uptake of viral hepatitis services, and improve healthcare capacity to provide culturally responsive viral hepatitis services.
    
3. Strategy: Advocate for Resources and Policy Change
   The Coalition will advocate for resources and policy change within health systems, public health infrastructure, and all levels of government to implement existing best practices, allocate funding and resources, and adopt new policies that further viral hepatitis elimination.
    
4. Strategy: Improve Information Sharing and Data Collection
   The Coalition will improve information sharing and data collection decision-making to improve responsiveness to changing needs related to viral hepatitis, improve coordination and provision of care for people needing viral hepatitis services, and prevent the use of data in ways that further stigmatize or marginalize individuals and communities.