HIV Risk Behaviors of Male and Female Jail Inmates Prior to Incarceration and One Year Post-Release

Individuals cycling in and out of the criminal justice system are at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Most infections are contracted in the community, not during incarceration, but little is known about the profile of risk behaviors responsible for this elevated infection rate. This study investi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS and behavior 2013-10, Vol.17 (8), p.2685-2694
Main Authors: Adams, Leah M., Kendall, Stephanie, Smith, Alison, Quigley, Erin, Stuewig, Jeffrey B., Tangney, June P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Criminal Justice
Female
Female Offenders
Females
Gender
Gender differences
Health Education
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Psychology
Health risks
Health Services Needs and Demand
HIV
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV Infections - transmission
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Imprisonment
Infectious Diseases
Intervention
Judicial system
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Males
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Needle Sharing - statistics & numerical data
Original Paper
Policy Making
Prisoners
Prisoners - psychology
Prisoners - statistics & numerical data
Prisons
Public Health
Risk
Risk factors
Risk taking
Sex Factors
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Partners
Sexually transmitted diseases
STD
Substance Abuse, Intravenous - epidemiology
Time Factors
Unsafe Sex - statistics & numerical data
Virginia - epidemiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Individuals cycling in and out of the criminal justice system are at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Most infections are contracted in the community, not during incarceration, but little is known about the profile of risk behaviors responsible for this elevated infection rate. This study investigated pre-incarceration and post-release HIV risk behaviors in a longitudinal study of 542 male and female inmates in a Northern Virginia jail. Although there was a significant decrease in risky behavior from pre-incarceration to post-incarceration, participants reported high levels of unprotected sexual activity and risky IV drug behaviors at both time points, emphasizing the need for prevention programming among this at-risk population. Gender differences in participants’ pre-incarceration and post-release HIV risk behaviors suggest the need for gender-specific interventions to reduce overall HIV risk. Identifying specific HIV risk behaviors of jail inmates is vital to improve treatment and intervention efforts inside and outside of correctional settings.
ISSN:1090-7165
1573-3254
DOI:10.1007/s10461-011-9990-2