Types of HIV/STD Education and Prevention Programs Provided

Table 14 summarizes the types of HIV/STD education and prevention
programs that correctional systems provided to inmates in at least one of
their facilities, according to the 1992, 1994, and 1997 NIJ/CDC surveys.
This shows that the percentage of State and Federal systems offering
instructor-led education rebounded to 94 percent in 1997 after dropping to
75 percent in 1994. The percentage of city/county systems providing
instructor-led education also increased in 1997 to 73 percent.

Peer-led programs are in place in an increasing percentage of State/Federal
systems, but still in fewer than half. Only 7 percent of city/county jail
systems have peer programs, in part because inmates’ short jail stays make
it more difficult to institute such programs.

In the 1997 NIJ/CDC survey, the category “multisession prevention
counseling” was added to gauge the extent to which correctional systems
are moving beyond simple education and toward more intensive programs
designed to help inmates make and sustain the difficult behavioral changes
needed to reduce their risks of acquiring or transmitting HIV and STDs.
Almost 60 percent of State/Federal systems and 41 percent of city/county
jail systems reported offering such programs. Pre- and posttest HIV
counseling is offered in virtually all prison and jail systems, almost all
systems provide written materials on HIV and STDs, and large majorities
of systems employ audiovisuals.

The above figures reflect only the percentages of systems that reported
providing these types of education and prevention programs in at least one
of their facilities. The percentages of facilities (as opposed to systems) that
provide the same types of education and prevention programs (table 15)
are, in most cases, substantially lower. For example, less than two-thirds
of facilities provide instructor-led education, about one-third provide
multisession prevention counseling, and only 13 percent of State/Federal
prisons and 3 percent of city/county jails offer peer-led programs. Pre- and
posttest counseling was offered in the vast majority of facilities.

The validation study, in which reported policies in individual facilities
were compared with those reported by systems’ central offices, revealed a
fairly general agreement regarding education and prevention programs but
a few discrepancies as well (table 16). In particular, in systems that
reported providing multisession prevention counseling in all of their
facilities, only 59 percent of the facilities actually offered such programs.