Visits to primary care physicians among persons who inject drugs at high risk of hepatitis C virus infection: room for improvement

The role of primary care physicians (PCP) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevention is increasingly emphasized. Yet, little is known about the patterns of contacts with PCP among persons who inject drugs (PWID). We sought to assess the 6‐month prevalence of PCP visiting among PWID at risk of HCV infection and to explore the associated factors. Baseline data were collected from HCV‐seronegative PWID recruited in HEPCO, an observational Hepatitis Cohort study (2004–2011) in Montreal, Canada. An interviewer‐administered questionnaire elicited information on socio‐demographic factors, drug use patterns and healthcare services utilization. Blood samples were tested for HCV antibodies. Using the Gelberg‐Andersen Behavioral Model, hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predisposing, need and enabling factors associated with PCP visiting. Of the 349 participants (mean age = 34; 80.8% male), 32.1% reported visiting a PCP. In the multivariate model, among predisposing factors, male gender [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.45 (0.25–0.83)], chronic homelessness [AOR = 0.08 (0.01–0.67)], cocaine injection [AOR = 0.46 (0.28–0.76)] and reporting greater illegal or semi‐legal income [AOR = 0.48 (0.27–0.85)] were negatively associated with PCP visits. Markers of need were not associated with the outcome. Among enabling factors, contact with street nurses [AOR = 3.86 (1.49–9.90)] and food banks [AOR = 2.01 (1.20–3.37)] was positively associated with PCP visiting. Only one third of participating PWID reported a recent visit to a PCP. While a host of predisposing factors seems to hamper timely contacts with PCP among high‐risk PWID, community‐based support services may play an important role in initiating dialogue with primary healthcare services in this population.