Hepatitis C in Correctional Centers: A Useful Experience

Incarcerated youths have a higher prevalence of behaviors that might put them at more risk for hepatitis C than the general public. This study was performed to determine prevalence of hepatitis C in inmates of a correctional center in Isfahan, Iran.

In a cross-sectional study, during one year, 160 under 18-year old incarecerated individuals using nonprobable sampling method were enrolled in the study. Risky behaviours were obtained by a validated questionaire and blood sample for hepatitis C detection. The experiences of administration were gathered and analysed by content analysis.

All of the elligible participants were voluntarily enrolled in the study. This population consisted of the 147 boys and 13 girls. Seven cases of hepatitis C were diagnosed that makes HCV prevalence 4.4%.

This was a successful experience due to the excellent caoperation between suffs of correctionl centers and the investigators. However, the high HCV prevalence obserrved in this study leads us to prepare and education programmes to decrease HCV spread and risky behavours in this population.