title: Effectiveness of needle/syringe programmes and opiate substitution therapy in preventing HCV transmission among people who inject drugs.
abstract: This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the impact of needle/syringe programmes with and without opiate substitution therapy (OST) on the incidence of HCV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID).To assess the effect of OST alone on the incidence of HCV infection among PWID.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  How effective are needle/syringe programmes (NSP) with and without the use of OST for reducing HCV incidence among PWID?How effective is OST alone for reducing HCV incidence among PWID?How does the effect of NSP and OST vary according to duration of treatment (i.e. for NSPs weekly attendance versus monthly)?How does the effect of NSP vary according to the type of service (fixed site versus mobile; high coverage versus low coverage)?How does the effect of OST vary according to the dosage of OST, type of substitution used and adherence to treatment?
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.affiliation: New York University College of Nursing, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minozzi
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vickerman
authors.affiliation: New York University College of Nursing, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hagan
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: New York University College of Nursing, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ashly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW, Randwick, Australia.
authors.forename: Louisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Degenhardt
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, London, UK.
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.affiliation: Health Protection Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maher
authors.affiliation: Health Protection Scotland, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Norah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Palmateer
authors.affiliation: University of West of Scotland, Paisley, UK.
authors.forename: Avril
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hickman