The influence of race and language on chronic hepatitis C virus infection management.

Race, ethnicity and language influence health care delivery and satisfaction with treatment in many disease states including chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In this review, HCV epidemiology and current standard of care is reviewed. The influence of race, ethnicity and language on screening, work-up and initiation of HCV antiviral treatment is evaluated. Acknowledging that these factors do influence health care quality and taking steps to improve communication (e.g. translated written documents; use of reliable, trained translators in the clinic setting) will facilitate the delivery of an equivalent level of care to all patients living with HCV.