YouMatterYouMatterYouMatterYouMatter
  • 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

Guidelines

  • 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 – …

You Matter

Policies & Guidelines

The You Matter Project: Pathways to care for STBBIs.

A guideline and policy recommendations for STBBI testing and linkage to care in British Columbia Provincial Correctional Settings | Download a PDF of the guidelines and  recommendations here

 

Prior to this project, there were no publicly available STBBI opt-out or universal testing and linkage to care policies and guidelines for any provincial corrections institutions in Canada. Although STBBI screening is available on request in correctional centres across Canada, without accepted best practices for opt-out or universal STBBI testing and linkage to care, there is inconsistent implementation of pre- and post-test STBBI counselling in corrections, and STBBI tests during reception at corrections are not universally or even routinely offered in many facilities, resulting in poor linkage to care for STBBIs among PWAI.

The development of these foundational policies and guidelines for opt-out or universal STBBI testing and linkage to care in corrections at reception aims to create accountability frameworks, streamline care pathways, reduce the occurrence of unintended harms, and increase the likelihood that PWAI will have positive experiences when engaging in healthcare.

These were developed with input from health care workers, corrections staff, and PWAI, with the aim to catalyze system changes in how health care services are provided in correctional institutions – by ensuring staff are well-educated in violence and trauma-informed care[1], cultural safety[2], meaningful consent[3], and non-stigmatizing protocols around testing[4].

Adherence to these policies and guidelines for opt-out or universal STBBI testing and linkage to care at reception could: (a) enhance the participation and success of the implementation of opt-out or universal STBBI testing and linkage to care by Correctional Health Services; (b) improve PWAI linkage to care for STBBIs; (c) facilitate broader system-level changes in provincial corrections pertaining to health services engagement, such as reduced stigma and increased violence and trauma informed care; (d) facilitate PWAI engagement in health care services upon re-entry to community, including for addictions-related care, and (e) serve as a model of change that could be adapted for other Canadian regions or internationally.

To ensure that policies and guidelines incorporate and balance experiences and preferences of PWAI/PWUD and corrections staff, this project included consultations, interactive workshops, and communications with: PWAI and people with experience of incarceration, BC’s Correctional Health Services staff, and BC Corrections staff.

References

1. Trauma-Informed Social Policy: A Conceptual Framework for Policy Analysis and Advocacy (Bowen EA & Murshid NS)
     2016 | American Journal of Public Health | Available online

2. Toward cultural safety: nurse and patient perceptions of illicit substance use in a hospitalized setting (Pauly et al.)
     2015 | Advances in Nursing Science | Available online

3. HIV testing and treatment with correctional populations: people, not prisoners (Seal et al.)
     2010 | Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved | Available online

4. Behind closed doors, no one sees, no one knows’: hepatitis C, stigma and treatment-as-prevention in prison (Rance et al.)
     2018 | Crititcal Public Health | Available online

5. Barriers and facilitators to hepatitis C (HCV) screening and treatment-a description of prisoners’ perspective (Crowley et al.)
     2019 | Harm Reduction Journal | Available online

6. Blueprint to inform hepatitis C elimination efforts in Canada (The Canadian Network on Hepatitis C Blueprint Writing Committee and Working Groups)
     2019 | CanHepC | Available online

7. Guidance to Support Opt-Out Blood Borne Virus Testing in Scottish Prisons (NHS Scotland & Scottish Prison Service)
     2019 | NHS | Available online

8. Guidelines for Family Physicians Working with Formerly Incarcerated (Collaborating Centre for Prison Health and Education)
     2017 | CCPHE | Available online

9. Hepatitis C virus screening and treatment in Irish prisons from nurse managers’ perspectives – a qualitative exploration (Crowley et. al.)
     2
018 | BMC Nursing |  Available online

10. Jail: Time for testing -Institute a Jail-based HIV Testing Program (Altice,et. al)
     2010 | Yale University School of Medicine | Available online

11. PROS & CONS: A Guide to Creating Successful Community-Based HIV and HCV Programs for Prisoners (Second Edition) (Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network)
     2011 | PASAN | Available online

12. Public Health Guidance on HIV, Hepatitis B and C Testing in the EU/EEA (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
     2018 | ECDC | Available online

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