Sexually transmitted diseases, specifically HIV, are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society. At the same time, populations of jails and prisons are steadily increasing. Do these statements have any correlation to each other? If so, how do they relate?
Out of all prisoners, one-fifth to one-fourth of individuals who have an HIV infection have a record of incarceration. From 1990 to the end of 2002 the populations of jails and prisons have been on the rise. The prevalence of HIV in inmates is most common among women. In fact, most individuals who tested HIV positive were from New York, Florida, and/or Texas. Despite the growing population of jails and prisons, the incidence of known HIV has been slowly decreasing since about 1995. This downward trend applies to both men and women.
The most widely known risk factor of HIV is its means of transmission. HIV is transmitted through sharing needles or coming into contact with contaminated bodily fluid. Most HIV transmission actually occurs in the community. There are high rates among individuals who are becoming incarcerated, but low rates among new infections inside of jail and prison walls. This is because the disease is often contracted through drug use, the use of contaminated needles, or unsafe sex prior to becoming an inmate. One risk involved with HIV in jails is that numerous inmates admit to having more than one sexual partner. In addition to this, they report inconsistent use of condoms, both in jail and after their release, making the spread of disease nearly inevitable. The silver lining is, HIV has a lower rate of transmission than other sexually transmitted pathogens.
One treatment barrier for prisoners with HIV is currently, testing is only available upon request. If there were voluntary and readily available testing individuals could be safer, and ideally not spread the infectious disease. The absence of knowledge of one’s serostatus is just one barrier in the way of being able to prevent the spread of HIV. Not only this but, limited access to prevention services and lack of implementation of vaccine programs on a large scale also stand in the way of being able to stop the spread of disease. Unsurprisingly, the lack of vaccine programs is due to a lack of public health funding. The list does not stop there. Disease prevention, education, counseling, and testing have yet to become a staple in correctional healthcare. This prevents inmates from being able to be knowledgeable about the risks and prevention of the spread of HIV, and possibly other diseases as well. One issue among men specifically is some consider same-gender sexual encounters in jail purely situational and therefore do not respond to HIV messages that target openly bisexual or gay men. Prisoners are offered some health care relating to HIV needs. If an HIV prisoner enters into a correctional facility they can have the opportunity to access preventative health care, immunization, health education, and more. A few states even offer services of HIV prevention and peer education in prison settings.
While some attempts to help inmates with sexually transmitted infections are being made there is still a long way to go before a noticeable change is made. With the right education and resources, there is great potential to minimize the spread of HIV to new individuals, inmates, or not.
References
Dr. Penelope Morrison. (2019). Penn State, Bio-Behavioral Health (150n). Prepared slides & notes from class.
N.a. (2019). Prisoners, HIV and AIDS. Avert. Retrieved from https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-social-issues/key-affected-populations/prisoners#footnote1_nq5nzmy