Hepatitis C in Maternal/Infant Dyads in the Northwest LHIN

(September 2019 – Present)

This quality assurance project aims to 1) assess regional-level estimates of hepatitis C infections in pregnancy, the occurrence of treatment, and hepatitis B vaccination in pregnant women and; 2) give an estimate of hepatitis C infections in pregnancy in the Northwest LHIN and assess health system performance with regards to treating hepatitis C infections in women, diagnosing hepatitis C infections in infants, and preventing morbidity through hepatitis B vaccination.

Maternal-infant chart reviews will be conducted at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre, and the Shibogama First Nations Health Authority. Interviews were performed with obstetrician/gynaecologists, family doctors, pediatricians, infectious disease physicians, Indigenous and community midwives, postpartum nurses, and health unit staff in Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. These interviews informed a pathway for hepatitis C screening and hepatitis B immunization among infants born to mothers with hepatitis C in Northwestern Ontario and identifying gaps in care provision. A systematic literature review was also performed on current guidelines for the management and treatment of Hepatitis C in pregnancy and in infants in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.