Hepatitis C virus screening and treatment in Irish prisons from a governor and prison officer perspective - a qualitative exploration

Table 1 Summary of barriers and enablers to HCV screening and treatment in prisoners

Barriers	Enablers
Increased security needs reduce allocated time for supporting medical services	In-reach medical services reduce requirement for hospital visits
Inadequate staffing and resources	Provision of education and training
Lack of knowledge about HCV among security staff and prisoners	Reassuring prisoners regarding confidentiality
Misinformation regarding historical HCV treatments circulating among prisoners	Opt-out HCV screening on committal
Concerns regarding medical confidentiality	Utilisation of ‘down-time’ in the prison timetable
Prisoners’ fear of treatment side effects and liver biopsy	Prison peer workers
Prisoners’ experience and fear of stigma	On-site hepatology and Fibroscan

ISSN: 2194-7899