Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a vaccine-preventable condition that causes inflammation of the liver, ranging in severity from a mild, short-term illness to a serious lifelong infection resulting in cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. San Francisco County has one of the highest rates of newly reported chronic HBV cases, and in 2019 the San Francisco Department of Public Health decided to undertake a needs assessment to determine ways to improve their response to the HBV epidemic.
Facente Consulting was tasked with researching and creating a report that would summarize the history and current landscape of various efforts to address HBV in San Francisco, serving as the foundation upon which a strategy to comprehensively address HBV citywide could be created and launched. Facente Consulting assessed local epidemiological data and written materials, reviewed peer-reviewed and grey literature regarding potential interventions and models to address HBV, conducted interviews with HBV providers to better understand the landscape and program opportunites, and authored the final written needs assessment report, including concrete recommendations for change.