NCJ Number
208810
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 44 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2005 Pages: 29-40
Date Published
February 2005
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Prison officers (PO's) in four Dublin (Ireland) prisons with high rates of blood-borne viral infections among inmates were surveyed about their knowledge and perceptions of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
Abstract
Of the 272 PO's who participated in the survey, all were male. Almost half of the respondents were between the ages of 19 and 34. The median length of service was 9 years. Almost half of the officers reported having received training regarding HIV, and just under one-third reported receiving training on hepatitis. Officers with shorter service periods were significantly more likely to report having been instructed about hepatitis. Although 85.3 percent of the respondents reported they did not know enough about communicable diseases to take the necessary precautions at work, most were informed about the main transmission routes for all three diseases; however, many were unsure about whether hepatitis B or hepatitis C could be transmitted by infected inmates coughing or sneezing or by touching items or places touched by the inmates. Training was found to have little effect on respondents' knowledge of how the infections could be transmitted, except in the case of HIV. This article suggests a systems approach to training PO's. This approach consists of a systematic process of collecting and analyzing collective and individual performance data to ensure that training objectives are being realized in practice. Such data assist in the evaluation of existing training programs. 5 tables and 11 references