Resumen
Objectives. To assess how instructional techniques affect officers’ intent to communicate
syringe legality during searches in Tijuana, Mexico, where pervasive syringe
confiscation potentiates risk of HIV and HCV among people who inject drugs (PWID) and
of occupational needle-stick injury among police.
Methods. Using the SHIELD (Safety and Health Integration in the Enforcement of Laws
on Drugs) model, Tijuana police underwent training to encourage communication of
syringe possession legality to PWID. Trainees received either passive video or interactive
role-play exercise on searching PWID. We used logistic regression to assess the training’s
impact on self-reported intent to communicate syringe legality by training type and gender.
Results. Officers (n = 1749) were mostly men (86%) assigned to patrol (84%). After the
training, intent to communicate the law improved markedly: from 20% to 39% (video
group) and from 20% to 58% (interactive group). Gender and training type significantly
predicted intent to communicate the law. Male and female officers’ adjusted odds ratios
in the interactive group were 5.37 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.56, 6.33) and 9.16
(95% CI = 5.88, 14.28), respectively, after the training.
Conclusions. To more effectively persuade police to endorse harm reduction and
occupational safety practices, police trainings should include interactive elements.
Autoría:
ARREDONDO, Jaime;
BELETSKY, Leo;
BAKER, Pieter;
ABRAMOVITZ, Daniela;
ARTAMONOVA, Irina;
CLAIRGUE, Erika;
MORALES, Mario;
MITTAL, María Luisa;
ROCHA JIMÉNEZ, Teresita;
KERR, Thomas;
BAÑUELOS, Arnulfo;
STRATHDEE, Steffanie A.;
CEPEDA, Javier