title: Prison officers' views about hepatitis C testing and treatment: a qualitative enquiry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the views of prison officers in an English category B male prison about people in prison being tested and treated for hepatitis C.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis C testing and treatment in English prisons remain low with the reasons being poorly understood. Prison officers are in continuous contact with prisoners so might observe factors that may influence people in prisons' choice in whether to accept hepatitis C testing and treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative design within an interpretative framework was employed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 prison officers at an English male category B prison. The interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed at the prison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four themes emerged Safeguarding, Stigma, Confidentiality and Education. Hepatitis C testing and treatment were supported in principle but if a person in prison poses a threat to the overall security of a prison, any health issues that are not immediately life threatening will be overridden, irrespective of the financial or health consequences. The prison officers respected people in prisons' confidentiality regarding health matters, but this could be compromised during violent incidents. All of the prison officers displayed limited knowledge about hepatitis C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This qualitative enquiry illustrates that prison security transcends health. This suggests that health providers may need to offer greater flexibility and collaboration across the network of National Health Service hospitals to maintain continuity in treatment if a prisoner is moved to a different establishment or liberated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study introduces the notion that prison security staff may have a potential role in promoting or discouraging hepatitis C testing and treatment by the ways in which their knowledge impacts on their interactions with people in prison. Engaging this staff group in educational opportunities should be a component of commissioned hepatitis service delivery in prisons.
authors.affiliation: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.affiliation: HMP Lowdham Grange, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Islip
authors.affiliation: University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Linsley
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.affiliation: School of Sociology and Social Policy University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D016495:Police / Q000523:psychology*; D011330:Prisons; D057545:Social Stigma
keywords: antiviral treatment; blood-borne virus; correctional facility; correctional officers; hepatitis C; interpretative; prison; prison officers; prisoners; qualitative