 Inmates generally must request medical treatment through either these officers, or through other, non-medically trained correctional staff, and studies have shown that female patients' complaints and requests for medical assistance are often not taken as seriously as those of male patients.The simultaneous positions that these officers hold as both security personnel and medical caretakers or advocates may contribute to female inmates' distrust of them.A 1999 study found that female inmates were more likely than their male counterparts to think that their access to health care was inadequate and that their quality of care was low compared to the care male prisoners were given.