Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Cristen J. Suhr, MPH, CHES, ORC Macro, 3 Corporate Square Blvd, Suite 370, Atlanta, GA 30329, 404-321-3211, cristen.j.suhr@orcmacro.com

Prisons and jails house high concentrations of individuals infected with HIV and those at higher than normal risk of becoming newly infected through injection drug use and sexual activity. Since most offenders eventually return to the community, left uncontrolled, the potential for spread of HIV and other infectious diseases outside correctional facilities is great. Despite the need for programs targeting infected inmates and releasees, there are many barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention and education interventions in jails and prisons and few programs which have overcome them or at least begun to address them. The Corrections Demonstration Project was implemented to help facilitate the transition from correctional facility to community in regard to health service utilization by ex-offenders. This study addresses service utilization among HIV-infected program participants in order to assess whether discharge planning/case management led to an increase in service utilization and to describe the barriers to care participants reported (n=208). Using frequencies and chi square analysis, services received and barriers to care are discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the barriers to identifying, monitoring, and treating HIV-infected inmates
• Recognize the association between HIV and recidivism
• Identify the community health implications of releasing HIV-infected ex-offenders without a plan for case management
• Articulate and apply study findings surrounding discharge planning/case management for HIV-infected ex-offenders in the attendee's own community

Keywords: Incarceration, Case Management

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No