HIV and STD Education and Behavioral Interventions

Theodore M. Hammett and Patricia Harmon-Abt Associates Inc.

o HIV and STD prevention programs are becoming more widespread in
correctional facilities.

o However, few correctional systems have implemented comprehensive
and intensive HIV prevention programs in all of their facilities.

o Peer-based education and prevention programs offer important
advantages, including cost-effectiveness, credibility, flexibility, and
benefits to peers themselves.

o Although few HIV/STD prevention programs in correctional settings
have been rigorously evaluated, anecdotal evidence suggests that they can
be successful in reaching this extremely high-risk population with
practical risk-reduction messages.

Periods of incarceration offer important opportunities to provide HIV and
STD education and behavioral intervention programs for populations that
are at extremely high risk. Taking advantage of these opportunities,
moreover, stands to benefit not only inmates themselves but also the
health of the communities to which the vast majority of inmates return. A
wide range of HIV and STD prevention programs have been offered in
correctional facilities, but most have been and continue to be basic
education rather than more intensive behavioral interventions. In any case,
very few education and prevention programs in correctional facilities have
been subjected to a rigorous evaluation that includes conducting
interviews with former inmates in the community.[1]

Data from the 1997 NIJ/CDC survey presented in this chapter show that
HIV/STD education and prevention programs are becoming more
widespread in correctional facilities. Nevertheless, the important public
health opportunity to provide comprehensive HIV prevention programs for
correctional inmates has by no means been fully utilized.