Abstract
Tuberculosis is a recognized health problem in United States’ prisons and jails. To assess tuberculosis knowledge and beliefs among incarcerated persons and non-medical employees of correctional facilities, written questionnaires were administered to 456 individuals incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), 127 staff of TDCJ substance abuse felony punishment facilities (SAFPF), and 146 TDCJ correctional officers. Demographic information was collected also. For the 12 true/false knowledge questions asked of incarcerated persons and SAFPF staff, the number of correct responses ranged from 2-12 (mean=9. 16) among incarcerated individuals and from 4-12 (mean= 9.37) among SAFPF staff. Performance of these two groups was similar overall, but varied on certain questions. For correctional officers, who were asked 11 knowledge questions with possible responses of "agree," "disagree," and "don’t know," the number of correct responses ranged from 1-11 (mean=6.70).
The most common misconceptions about tuberculosis among all groups evaluated concerned transmission, differentiation of tuberculosis infection and disease, prevention, and treatment. In addition to misunderstandings, 43 percent of incarcerated persons (especially females and Hispanics) and 44 percent of SAFPF staff perceived a stigma about tuberculosis; and of the employees who participated, 27 percent of SAFPF staff and 54 percent of correctional officers indicated they were afraid to work around persons who might have tuberculosis. These findings indicate that tuberculosis education, tailored to educational background and cultural beliefs, should be a component of all tuberculosis control programs.
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