Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Reader 1

Lily Geismer

Reader 2

Nancy Neiman

Reader 3

Asha Srikantiah

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Abstract

Chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) is a significant public health issue, estimated to affect more than 2 million Americans annually. Known as the “silent killer,” it causes more than 15,000 deaths each year, often among individuals who are unaware of their infection. HCV risks are not distributed equally among the population and disproportionately impact people who inject drugs and those experiencing homelessness. HCV is curable, and connecting people to treatment is a priority for the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH). This thesis presents a four-month design research project using the human-centered design framework to broadly tackle the challenge of low rates of treatment completion for HCV positive individuals in Los Angeles County. In collaboration with LACDPH, our research examines the state of HCV care at Housing for Health sites, including the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Recuperative Care Center, and the Illumination Foundation- Whittier Recuperative Care Center, and explores how LACDPH can improve treatment outcomes for HCV. Ultimately, through interviews with case workers, medical case workers, nurses, and public health officials, we recommend that LACDPH implement on-site HCV testing during patient intake at recuperative care centers. We propose a pilot program at the MLK Recuperative Care Center to evaluate this recommendation. We hypothesize that integrating HCV testing into the patient intake process will increase treatment completion rates due to the support recuperative care staff provide in helping clients navigate the HCV treatment process.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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