Attitude of prison nurse officers to drug misusers

The key group involved in delivering health care to drug misusers in prison is the prison nurse officers. The literature suggests that the skills and knowledge base of this professional group has received very little attention. This study looked at the attitudes of prison nurse officers in Scotland towards intravenous drug misusers. Age, sex and grade appeared to affect attitudes, but the results were not clear cut. Some stereotyping of drug misusers was evident among respondents. Drug misusers are a marginalised group in terms of health care and it is important that their needs are addressed in prison. Prison nurse officers should be proactive in meeting such needs, and should be given adequate support to do so. This paper suggests that the skills of such staff are often not being used appropriately.