Building a social science research agenda to explore the local contexts of viral hepatitis (360G-Wellcome-219238_Z_19_Z)

Viral hepatitis is a global health threat that contributes to more annual deaths than HIV or malaria. Hepatitis B virus can be prevented by early vaccination or treated with antiviral drugs and hepatitis C virus can be cured safely and effectively with direct acting antivirals, yet screening, diagnosis and treatment remain low on a global scale. The way hepatitis is experienced and managed is context specific, making public health programmes dependent on an understanding of local knowledge and practices. Despite this, viral hepatitis is, generally, underfunded and understudied from a social science perspective. The goal of this specific application is two-fold. First, to build upon an international platform of social science researchers working on research related to infectious disease threats to include a specific working group focused on viral hepatitis. Second, to create a core team of researchers from multiple contexts in East Africa, West Africa, and Southeast Asia to develop and prepare a larger collaborative research agenda related to viral hepatitis that will be implemented in low- and middle-income countries. We will host two meetings: one to discuss past and ongoing research and the second to develop a protocol for submission for a collaborative award.