Raising awareness of hepatitis C disease includes promoting opportunities to screen and educate individuals at risk for hepatitis C infection, including:

• Individuals born within the years 1945-1965
• Individuals 18-30 years old who inject drugs and share needles
• Individuals who are infected with HIV

Community outreach involves offering hepatitis C testing to clients within the 18-30 year age range who partake in risky behaviors and are interested in treatments for other diseases including HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Outreach to local healthcare professionals entails increasing training by providing at least two statewide viral hepatitis educational opportunities within the years covered in the action plan.

Enhancing the distribution of educational information includes developing opportunities for people to participate in virtual and self-paced viral hepatitis C education and training, maintaining the accuracy of educational materials, and distributing educational materials to the public.

Enhancement of linkage to care for clients who test positive for hepatitis C in local health offices through standardized service delivery and standardized policies and procedures for referrals. Standardization of care would ensure consistency and uniformity among hepatitis C programs within Florida’s local health offices.

Improvement of the availability and efficiency of hepatitis C testing technologies used in local health offices and other health centers in Florida by purchasing and distributing hepatitis C tests.

Maintenance of support for hepatitis C elimination at division and bureau levels through integration of hepatitis C services into existing programs for communicable diseases.

Monitoring of labwork documentation to ensure completeness of reports sent to the Florida Department of Health.

Distribution of Hepatitis C surveillance reports as appropriate and enhanced accessibility of reports to the public through the www.flahepatitis.org program website.

Maintaining updated hepatitis C epidemiologic reports including identification and reporting the quantity of individuals tested for hepatitis C and other surveillance data to inform discussions of emerging issues and enable planning for future initiatives.

Enhancing the availability of viral load and genotype testing for people who have tested positive for hepatitis C antibodies.

Distribution of hepatitis C education and supplementary materials to at-risk individuals and medical care providers.

Expansion of prevention services through coordination with programs that address HIV, STD and other diseases that pose a local public health risk.