Peer education for hepatitis C prevention.

The purpose of this article is to describe a model of education about hepatitis C virus prevention tested in a county correctional facility. The Teach One Method and Relational Communication models inform this work. Using a one-group pretest-posttest prospective design our aims were to (1) convey education about prevention, protection, and safety; (2) provide this information through relationship-centered communication; (3) test the reliability and validity of the instruments; and (4) measure changes in behavior, knowledge, and relationship in the learner. A convenience sample of 25 men was recruited at a Massachusetts county jail. Subscale reliability was 0.78 and 0.79 for the relationship and behavior subscales, respectively. Knowledge questions were evaluated using face and content validity by teachers before and during this study. All subscale mean scores improved in the posttest condition. The level of significance of the calculated t value for the behavior subscale was 0.16. The level of significance for the relationship t value was nonsignificant at 0.65. Knowledge, behavior, and relationship scores improved after the intervention. Recommendations include retesting study instruments on a larger sample and using a control group.