Addressing Police Occupational Safety During an Opioid Crisis: The Syringe Threat and Injury Correlates (STIC) Score

Overview

Journal J Occup Environ Med

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2019 Oct 29

PMID 31658223

Citations 2

Authors

Leo Beletsky

Daniela Abramovitz

Jaime Arredondo

Pieter Baker

Irina Artamonova

Phil Marotta

Maria Luisa Mittal

Teresita Rocha-Jimenez

Javier A Cepeda

Mario Morales

Erika Clairgue

Thomas A Patterson

Steffanie A Strathdee

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: To develop and validate syringe threat and injury correlates (STIC) score to measure police vulnerability to needlestick injury (NSI).

Methods: Tijuana police officers (N = 1788) received NSI training (2015 to 2016). STIC score incorporates five self-reported behaviors: syringe confiscation, transportation, breaking, discarding, and arrest for syringe possession. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between STIC score and recent NSI.

Results: Twenty-three (1.5%) officers reported NSI; higher among women than men (3.8% vs 1.2%; P = 0.007). STIC variables had high internal consistency, a distribution of 4.0, a mode of 1.0, a mean (sd) of 2.0 (0.8), and a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 2.0 (1.2 to 2.6). STIC was associated with recent NSI; odds of NSI being 2.4 times higher for each point increase (P-value <0.0001).

Conclusions: STIC score is a novel tool for assessing NSI risk and prevention program success among police.

Citing Articles

Occupational Safety and Health and Illicit Opioids: State of the Research on Protecting Against the Threat of Occupational Exposure.

Basham C, Cerles A, Rush M, Alexander-Scott M, Greenawald L, Chiu S New Solut. 2021; 31(3):315-329.

PMID: 34407666 PMC: 9125692. DOI: 10.1177/10482911211039566.

Municipal police support for harm reduction services in officer-led referrals of people who inject drugs in Tijuana, Mexico.

Baker P, Arredondo J, Borquez A, Clairgue E, Mittal M, Morales M Harm Reduct J. 2021; 18(1):76.

PMID: 34311765 PMC: 8313001. DOI: 10.1186/s12954-021-00513-4.

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