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  • ABOUT
    • Our Team
    • Our Supporters
    • Our Collaborators
    • Abbreviations
  • PROJECTS
    • ADVANCE COVID-19 Vaccines Study
    • ASSESS-DBS Study
    • STBBI Policy and Guideline Development for BC Corrections
    • Test, Link, Call Project
  • EDUCATION RESOURCES
    • For Healthcare Staff in BC Corrections
    • For Staff in BC Corrections
    • For Clients in BC Corrections
    • COVID-19
  • GUIDELINES & TOOLS
    • Guidelines
    • Test, Link, Call Project Tools and Guidelines
      • Downloadable Resources for Test, Link, Call Project
      • Medicine Bundles – Frequently Asked Questions
    • Tools for Engagement
    • Tools for Healthcare Staff in BC Corrections
    • Tools for Release Planning
  • OUTPUTS & UPDATES
    • Blog
    • Graphic Summaries
    • Media Stories
    • Publications & Reports
    • Presentations
  • CONTACT

For Staff in BC Corrections

  • Education Resources – …
    • Healthcare Staff – …
    • Corrections Staff – …
    • Clients & Community – …
    • COVID-19 – …

You Matter

STBBI Education for Corrections Staff

Prisons, unfortunately, play a role in concentrating, amplifying and disseminating sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) to people who are incarcerated and to the greater community. This is due in part because (a) people who are incarcerated are disproportionately affected by STBBIs, and (b) there are usually limited or inconsistent policies and guidelines around testing STBBIs in correctional facilities.

To address this, we have created a suite of educational tools and resources that are aimed at corrections staff such as Wardens, Correctional Officers, and Programs Officers.

Online Course

YM Online Course: BCCDC STBBIs in Corrections (e.g., for corrections officers, wardens, etc.)

Videos

Downloadable PDFs

YM FactSheet (CO#1): STBBIs Factsheet

Other useful resources

  • BCCDC: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) ❯
  • BCCDC: Blood borne diseases ❯
  • CATIE: Safer sex guide ❯
  • CATIE: The power of undetectable: How HIV treatment prevents transmission ❯

Background information

STBBIs are a collection of infections that are usually transmitted through certain sexual activities or through blood-to-blood contact. STBBIs that are commonly tested for in corrections and how they’re relevant for your work. These STBBIs include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis A, B, and C, and HIV.

Some STBBIs are bacterial and some are viral

Bacterial STBBIs

Working in correctional facilities does not put you at risk for coming into contact with bacterial STBBIs, but testing for them is recommended for people who are incarcerated as well as for everyone in the province who is sexually active. Bacterial STBBIs:

  • Are most commonly transmitted through sexual activities such as penis-vagina sex, anal sex, and oral sex
  • Transmission can often be prevented with the use of barrier methods, such as condoms.
  • Can be easily treated with antibiotics

 

Viral STBBIs

Viral STBBIs include Hepatitis A, B, and C, as well as HIV. The Hepatitis viruses directly impact the liver, whereas HIV is a virus that attacks and weakens the immune system – your body’s defence against illness.

Transmission

Some STBBIs, but not all, can be transmitted through things like: needle stick injuries, breaking up fights, responding to overdoses, contact with vomit or feces.

For HIV or hep C to be transmitted, three things are required – if one of these things are missing, there is no risk for transmission. The three things are:

1. Fluid (for hepatitis C = blood; for HIV = blood, sexual fluids, breast milk)
2. Activity (see below)
3. Route (for hepatitis C = blood-to-blood contact; for HIV = through puncture, cut, tear, tissue of rectum, vagina/cervix,                 some areas of the penis)

HIV

Activities that are likely to pose a risk for transmitting HIV include:

  • Sex (penis-vagina or penis-anus) without preventive tools (e.g., condoms)
  • Sharing needles or syringes
  • Using shared or unsterilized tattoo or piercing equipment

 

Hepatitis C

Activities that are likely to pose a risk for transmitting hepatitis C include:

  • Sharing drug use equipment (including needles, spoons for cooking drugs, filters, pipes, and snorting straws)
  • Sharing tattoo or piercing equipment
  • Sharing personal hygiene equipment (e.g. razors, toothbrushes, nail clippers)
  • Condomless anal sex
  • Needle stick injuries (low risk)

You Matter

NEWS & STORIES

The News & Stories page include blogs written by team members, news, project updates and past and upcoming events.

  • Blogs
  • Media / Press
  • Project Updates
  • Event Calendar

Blogs

  • Supporting Access to HIV and Hepatitis Care: How Cell Phones and Peer Support Are Changing Lives for People Who Experience Criminalization

    By Admin | Comments are Closed

    SEPTEMBER 5, 2024. By Amrit Tiwana, Nicola Gale, and Sofia Bartlett. People who experience criminalization, such as those who have been incarcerated,Read more

  • Prescribing cellphones and peer support to improve access to STBBI care

    By Admin | Comments are Closed

    AUGUST 2024. By Nicola Gale, RPh (APA), MPH. More about Nicola Gale. Nicola Gale is a clinical pharmacist with an out-patient liverRead more

Media / Press

  • Test, Link, Call Project brings vital care within easier reach for underserved populations

    By Admin | Comments are Closed

    By Pacific Public Health Foundation NOVEMBER 8, 2023, Pacific Public Health Foundation Test, Link, Call: a simple premise with a powerful purposeRead more

  • Province takes action to eliminate hepatitis C

    By Admin | Comments are Closed

    By BC Ministry of Health JULY 30, 2023, BC Ministry of Health Communications People in B.C. will be better protected against theRead more

Project Updates

STBBI Policy and Guideline
Development for BC Corrections

The You Matter Pathways to STBBI Care project is funded through the Public Health Agency of Canada …

DETAILS

Test, Link,
Call Project

We recently received funding for the Test, Link, Call (TLC) Project which will be launched in Fall 2021 …

DETAILS

Upcoming Events

American Association for the Study of
Liver Diseases (Digital Conference)

Date: Nov 12-15, 2021

Link to conference
https://www.aasld.org/the-liver-meeting/program/digital-experience

  • Benefits of DAA treatment on mortality related to extrahepatic manifestations among people who inject drugs: a population-based study in British Columbia, Canada
  • Hepatitis C virus reinfection after successful treatment with direct acting antiviral therapy in Canada
  • Hepatitis C screening



In partnership with the BCCDC, BCMHSUS, UBC and other
stakeholders, we created a group that has been working on
transformative projects to improve health outcomes for
people in prison related to STBBIs.

PROJECTS

  • PROJECTS
    • ADVANCE COVID-19 Vaccines Study
    • ASSESS-DBS Study
    • STBBI Policy and Guideline Development for BC Corrections
    • Test, Link, Call Project

EDUCATION RESOURCES

  • Education Resources
    • Healthcare Staff
    • Corrections Staff
    • Clients & Community
    • COVID-19

PUBLICATIONS & TEMPLATES

  • GUIDELINES & TOOLS
    • Guidelines
    • Test, Link, Call Project Tools and Guidelines
      • Downloadable Resources for Test, Link, Call Project
      • Medicine Bundles – Frequently Asked Questions
    • Tools for Engagement
    • Tools for Healthcare Staff in BC Corrections
    • Tools for Release Planning
  • Y5 Creative
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
Copyright @ 2021 - You Matter | All Rights Reserved
  • ABOUT
    • Our Team
    • Our Supporters
    • Our Collaborators
    • Abbreviations
  • PROJECTS
    • ADVANCE COVID-19 Vaccines Study
    • ASSESS-DBS Study
    • STBBI Policy and Guideline Development for BC Corrections
    • Test, Link, Call Project
  • EDUCATION RESOURCES
    • For Healthcare Staff in BC Corrections
    • For Staff in BC Corrections
    • For Clients in BC Corrections
    • COVID-19
  • GUIDELINES & TOOLS
    • Guidelines
    • Test, Link, Call Project Tools and Guidelines
      • Downloadable Resources for Test, Link, Call Project
      • Medicine Bundles – Frequently Asked Questions
    • Tools for Engagement
    • Tools for Healthcare Staff in BC Corrections
    • Tools for Release Planning
  • OUTPUTS & UPDATES
    • Blog
    • Graphic Summaries
    • Media Stories
    • Publications & Reports
    • Presentations
  • CONTACT
YouMatter