{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T11:13:11Z","timestamp":1788433991997,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]],"date-time":"2025-10-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761868800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Understanding the knowledge, risk behaviors, and psychological health of people who use drugs (PWUDs) is critical for Hepatitis C (HCV) elimination. This study aimed to assess these factors among PWUDs in a Drug Rehabilitation Center by comparing HCV-positive and HCV-negative individuals.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 127 participants over 18 years (58 HCV-positive and 69 HCV-negative) were selected from the Lantian Drug Rehabilitation Center from April to June 2023. Data were collected through a descriptive, cross-sectional questionnaire (HCV awareness, HCV knowledge, SCL-90 tests) and laboratory blood tests, with which inferential and descriptive statistical analyses were performed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Of the 127 participants, 58 (45.7%) were HCV-positive. A significant portion of both HCV-positive (31.0%) and HCV-negative (66.7%) individuals were unaware of their status prior to testing (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.04). Overall HCV knowledge was high and similar between the two groups, though specific gaps persisted, with fewer than 40% recognizing the transmission risk from unregulated cosmetic procedures. Sharing syringes was significantly more prevalent in the HCV-positive group (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.001). Compared to Chinese national norms, HCV-positive PWUDs exhibited significantly higher psychological distress across all ten SCL-90 dimensions (all\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001), with the most pronounced elevations in somatization and psychoticism.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Educational programs in rehabilitation centers appear effective in raising general HCV awareness, significant gaps in knowledge about community-based transmission routes persist. The profound psychological distress observed among HCV-positive PWUDs, coupled with the high rate of status unawareness, underscores the urgent need for integrated care models that address both virological treatment and mental health support.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1618440","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]],"date-time":"2025-10-31T06:25:52Z","timestamp":1761891952000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and psychological health of people who use drugs towards Hepatitis C: a cross-sectional 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