Preparedness in Jails Project
H1N1 influenza pandemic revealed that small and mid-sized jails were largely missed during distribution of H1N1 vaccine.
Goal
To more proactively connect jails with local health departments to establish relationships and develop innovative approaches to preparedness planning.
Findings from a national survey of jails and prisons conducted by our team after the 2009/2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic revealed that small and mid-sized jails were largely missed during distribution of H1N1 vaccine. To address this preparedness gap, the goal of the Preparedness in Jails project was to strengthen preparedness-related collaborations between local public health departments (e.g. county health departments) and their corresponding jurisdictional jails. This goal was accomplished through a demonstration project centered around maternal tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine promotion to pregnant inmates. Eleven county-jail dyads in four Georgia health districts participated in this project in 2016 – 2017.
The end product of this project was the development of the Preparedness in Jails toolkit to serve as a an educational resource for local public health practitioners and jails staff interested in cultivating and sustaining a preparedness-focused partnership.
The toolkit includes:
- Editable educational presentations on maternal Tdap vaccination and Zika virus disease (with separate versions for healthcare workers and detainees)
- Valuable content on how to forge relationships between jails and local health departments
- Editable contact information sheets
Anne Spaulding, MD, MPH
Project Director
Associate Professor, Epidemiology
Associate Professor, Epidemiology
Dr. Anne Spaulding is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist working in the areas of HIV and STD prevention, particularly among detained and incarcerated individuals.
For more information, please visit Anne’s online profile page.
Chava Bowden
Program Manager
Rebecca Fils-Aime, MPH
Graduate Research Assistant
Years of service: 2016-2017
Years of service: 2016-2017
Dissemination
Publications:
- Fils-Aime R., Lehnert J.D., Chamberlain A.T., Bowden C.J., Berkelman R. L., Spaulding A.C. Local Jails and Public Health Emergency Preparedness: A reproducible demonstration project to strengthen the ability of the public health infrastructure to deliver vaccines. Submitted for review.
Presentations:
- Spaulding A. Jail & Health Department Preparedness via Maternal Tdap Vaccine Education and Distribution. Oral presentation. Fourth Annual Georgia Region E Healthcare Coalition Meeting. Watkinsville, GA. February 17, 2017.
- Fils-Aime R, Spaulding A, Chamberlain A, Bowden C, Lehnert JD. Improving Jail and Health Department Preparedness Efforts by Demonstrating the Feasibility of Maternal Tdap Vaccine Education and Distribution. Oral Presentation at the 10th Annual Academic and Health Policy Conference on Correctional Health, March 16-17, 2017. Atlanta, GA.
- Spaulding A, Chamberlain A, Bowden C. Planning for Inevitable Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Jail. Presentation at the National Conference on Correctional HealthCare, Chicago IL, November 5, 2017.
Learn more about the years of research that informed this project:
Visit our online archive
Small jails lack emergency preparedness for the delivery of vaccines to detainees. Local health department, however, can assist with preparing jails if the proper relationships are built between the two entities.
For Local Health Departments
For Local Jails
Creating a Plan for Emergency Vaccination of Detainees
Emergency plans should include the following:
- Explicit responsibilities for staff by position title
- Contact information at the jails and health departments
- Vaccination procedures
- Backup plans for each step of the plan
- Estimated time frames