CCN Communicable Disease Management & Public Health Flashcards

When a large percentage of inmates develop acute gastrointestinal illness within 24–48 hours in a correctional facility, the correctional nurse's first action should be to:

Answer: Report to the facility health authority and initiate an outbreak investigation including stool specimens

A cluster of acute GI illness indicates a potential foodborne or infectious outbreak requiring immediate reporting and investigation to identify the causative agent and source.

Which of the following is the most effective strategy to reduce Hepatitis C transmission risk in correctional settings from a harm reduction perspective?

Answer: Providing access to HCV testing, treatment with direct-acting antivirals, and substance use counseling

Testing, treating with curative direct-acting antivirals, and addressing underlying substance use comprehensively reduces both individual and population-level HCV burden.

A correctional nurse observes an inmate with scabies. Which of the following is the most appropriate infection control measure beyond treating the affected inmate?

Answer: Treat all close contacts and perform environmental decontamination of bedding and clothing

Scabies spreads through close personal contact and shared linens; simultaneous treatment of contacts and environmental decontamination prevents reinfection and spread.

Which federal agency publishes guidelines that correctional facilities commonly follow for immunization of incarcerated adults?

Answer: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The CDC publishes the adult immunization schedule and specific correctional health guidance that NCCHC and accreditation bodies reference for facility vaccination programs.

An inmate returning from an outside hospital has a wound infected with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP). What is the appropriate nursing response?

Answer: Implement contact precautions with gown and gloves, notify infection control, and alert the provider

CRKP is a CDC urgent-threat organism requiring immediate contact precautions, provider notification, and infection control involvement to prevent spread in the facility.

Under which legal framework are correctional facilities required to provide necessary medical care, including communicable disease treatment, to incarcerated individuals?

Answer: Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, as established in Estelle v. Gamble (1976)

Estelle v. Gamble established that deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of inmates violates the Eighth Amendment, creating the constitutional mandate for correctional healthcare.