Abstract
Needle and Syringe Exchange Programs (NSP) prevent infectious diseases in community and prisons. Less than 1 % of prisons worldwide have NSP. One barrier is organizational concern for needle stick injuries from used syringes. Given these concerns, we introduced retractable syringes into our prison NSP and evaluated 1) injection drug users’ experiences with retractable syringes and 2) beliefs and knowledge about NSP among prison officers (PO) and healthcare staff (HS). In 2010, we replaced usual syringes with retractable needle devices in the prison of Champ-Dollon, Geneva, Switzerland. We examined demographics, clinical profiles and NSP use among NSP participants, and asked about ease and safety of retractable syringes use in interviews. We distributed questionnaires to PO and HS, to assess knowledge and general opinions on NSP. The majority of participants expressed that retractable syringes were acceptable alternatives, but needed improvements. Of the questionnaires, 90.3 % of PO and 9.6 % of HS were still concerned about misuse of soiled syringes as weapons. Improving the quality and ease of use of use may increase the acceptance of retractable syringes. Continuing to address PO and HS safety concerns is an important step towards more disseminated NSP implementation and useful innovation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- NSP:
-
Needle and syringe exchange program(s)
- BBV:
-
Blood borne virus
- HIV:
-
Human immunodeficiency virus
- HBV:
-
Hepatitis B virus
- HCV:
-
Hepatitis C virus
- IDU:
-
Injection Drug User(s)
- IV:
-
Intravenous
- HS:
-
Healthcare staff
- PO:
-
Prison officer(s)
References
Addiction Suisse. (2013, May 17). Infections par VIH dues à l’injection de drogues. Retrieved from: http://www.sucht-info.ch/fr/faits-et-chiffres/heroine/effets-et-risques/infections-par-vih/.
Arnaud, S., Jeannin, A., & Dubois-Arber, F. (2011). Estimating national-level syringe availability to injecting drug users and injection coverage: Switzerland, 1996–2006. International Journal of Drug Policy, 22(3), 226–32.
Bruce, R., & Schleifer, R. (2008). Ethical and human rights imperatives to ensure medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence in prisons and pre-trial detention. International Journal of Drug Policy, 19, 17–23.
CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001, August). Drug use, HIV and the criminal justice system. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/idu/facts/criminaljusticefactsheet.pdf.
Correctional Services of Canada. (2003). Infectious diseases prevention and control in Canadian federal penitentiaries, 2000–01 : a report of the Correctional Service of Canada’s infectious diseases surveillance system. Ottawa: Correctional Service Canada.
Degenhardt, L., Mathers, B., Vickerman, P., Rhodes, T., Latkin, C., & Hickman, M. (2010). Prevention of HIV infection for people who inject drugs: why individual, structural, and combination approaches are needed. The Lancet, 376, 285–301.
Des Jarlais, D. C. (1998). “Single-use” needles and syringes for the prevention of HIV infection among injection drug users. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology, 18 Supplement 1, S52-6.
Dolan, K. (2000). Surveillance and prevention of hepatitis C in Australian prisons: a discussion paper. National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, Technical report #95. Retrieved from: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/TR.095.PDF
Dolan, K., Rutter, S., & Wodak, A. D. (2003). Prison-based syringe exchange programmes: a review of international research and development. Addiction, 98, 153–8.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction . (2004). Annual report on the state of the drug problems in the European Union and Norway. Retrieved from: http://emcdda.europa.eu.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2011). Annual report on the state of the drug problems in Europe. Retrieved from: http://emcdda.europa.eu.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2011). Statistical Bulletin: Drug Users in Prison (DUP). Tables 3 and 105. Retrieved from: http://emcdda.europa.eu/stats11.
Federal authority of the Swiss Conferederation. (2011). Loi fédérale sur les stupéfiants et les substances psychotropes, Etat le 1 juillet 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/812_121.
Ferrer-Castro, V. et al. (2012). Evaluacion del Programa de Intercambio de Jeringuillas en el Centro Penitenciario de Pereiro de Aguiar (Ourense): diez anos de experiencia. Revista Española de Sanidad Penitenciaria, 14, 3–11.
Fry, C. L. (2006). Letter—Australian resources for ethical participatory processes in public health research. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32, 186.
Global Comission on Drug Policy. (2013). The Negative Impact of the War on Drugs on Public Health: The Hidden Hepatitis C Epidemic. Retrieved from: http://www.globalcomissionondrugs.org/hepatitis/gcdp_hepatitis_english.pdf.
Harm Reduction International. (2010, April). The Global State of Harm Reduction 2010: Key issues for broadening the response. Retrieved from: http://www.ihra.net/contents/535.
Jürgens, R. (2007). Interventions to adress HIV in prisons : Needle and syringe programmes and decontamination strategies. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS. Retrieved from: http://www.unodc.org/documents/hiv-aids/EVIDENCE%20FOR%20ACTION%202007%20NSP.pdf.
Jürgens, R., Ball, A., & Verster, A. (2009). Interventions to reduce HIV transmission related to injecting drug use in prison. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 9, 57–66.
Jürgens, R., Nowak, M., & Day, M. (2011). HIV and incarceration: prisons and detention. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 14, 26.
Kermode, M., Harris, A., & Gospodarevskaya, E. (2003). Introducing retractable needles into needle and syringe programmes: a review of the issues. International Journal of Drug Policy, 14, 233–9.
Larney, S. (2010). Does opioid substitution treatment in prisons reduce injecting-related HIV risk behaviours? A systematic review. Addiction, 105, 216–23.
Lines, R., Jurgens, R., Betteridge, G., Stover, H., Laticsvschi, D. & Nelles, J. (2006, April 30). Prison Needle Exchange: Lessons from A Comprehensive Review of International Evidence and Experience, 2004. (2nd ed.) Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Retrieved from: http://www.aidslaw.ca/publications/interfaces/downloadFile.php?ref=1173.
Mogg, D., & Levy, M. (2009). Moving beyond non-engagement on regulated needle-syringe exchange programs in Australian prisons. Harm Reduction Journal, 6, 7.
Mumola, C. J. (1999). Substance abuse and treatment of state and federal prisoners, 1997. Retrieved from: http://www.iapsonline.com/sites/default/files/Substance%20Abuse%20and%20Treatment%20of%20State%20and%20Federal%20Prisoners,%201997.pdf.
Office Fédéral de la Statistique. (2010) Statistiques des condamnations pénales. Retrieved from : http://www.bfs.admin.ch.
Rieder, J. P. (2009) Programme d’échange de seringues pour usagers de drogues par voie intra-veineuse dans une prison préventive à Genève. Le Flyer Bulletin de liaison des Centres de Soins Spécialisés pour Toxicomanes et médecins relais rds, pharmaciens d’officine, ECIMUD et structures de soins auprès des usages de drogue. Retrieved from : http://www.rvh-synergie.org/documents/Flyer37.pdf.
Stark, K., Herrmann, U., Ehrhardt, S., & Bienzle, U. (2006). A syringe exchange programme in prison as prevention strategy against HIV infection and hepatitis B and C in Berlin, Germany. Epidemiology and Infectiology, 134, 814–9.
Thiede, H., Romero, M., Bordelon, K., Hagan, H., & Murrill, C. S. (2001). Using a jail-based survey to monitor HIV and risk behaviors among Seattle area injection drug users. Journal of Urban Health, 78, 264–78.
Todts, S., Hariga, F., Pozza, M., Leclercq, D., Glibert, P., & Micalessi, M. I. (2007). Usage de drogues dans les prisons belges. Monitoring des risques sanitaires 2006. Bruxelles (Belgium): Service public fédéral Justice.
Whitby, M., McLaws, M. L., & Slater, K. (2008). Needlestick injuries in a major teaching hospital: the worthwhile effect of hospital-wide replacement of conventional hollow-bore needles. American Journal of Infection Control, 36, 180–6.
World Health Organization. (2004). Effectiveness of Sterile Needle and Syringe Programming in Reducing HIV/AIDS Among Injecting Drug Users. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/entity/hiv/pub/prev_care/effectivenesssterileneedle.pdf.
Wodak, A., & Cooney, A. (2006). Do needle syringe programs reduce HIV infection among injecting drug users: a comprehensive review of the international evidence. Substance Use & Misuse, 41, 777–813.
Wolff, H. (2010). Personal communication regarding occupancy rate of Geneva prison to prison medical attendings. In: Barro J, editor. 2010.
Wolff, H., et al. (2011). Health problems among detainees in Switzerland: a study using the ICPC-2 classification. BMC Public Health, 11, 245.
Disclosure
This study received financial support from Unitract and the University Hospitals of Geneva
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barro, J., Casillas, A., Gétaz, L. et al. Retractable Syringes in a Swiss Prison Needle and Syringe Exchange Program: Experiences of Drug-using Inmates and Prison Staff Perceptions. Int J Ment Health Addiction 12, 648–659 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-014-9498-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-014-9498-x