NCJ Number
179262
Journal
AIDS Information Exchange Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Dated: August 1995 Pages: 1-12
Editor(s)
Paula M. Jones
Date Published
August 1995
Length
12 pages
Annotation
AIDS prevention activities in city and county jails are described, with emphasis on findings of the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ) seventh national survey of HIV/AIDS in correctional facilities and on the characteristics of programs in Lowell, Mass., and Albuquerque, N.M.
Abstract
NIJ recommends that education interventions be provided at intake, during incarceration, and just prior to release. Challenges to conducting HIV prevention activities in correctional facilities include the authoritarian atmosphere, preoccupation with security, inmates' mistrust of public health professionals, violence within the facility, discrimination, and a high rate of inmate turnover. The NIJ survey conducted between November 1992 and March 1993 revealed that 58 percent of the 31 city and county systems that took part in the survey offered instructor-led education to inmates, down from 74 percent in 1990. Five percent of inmates had received 1 hour of HIV education in the past year. Peer education programs have been well received within correctional facilities, can be less costly to establish and maintain than some more traditional education programs that use outside professionals, and appear to improve the self-esteem of participants. Lowell House is a community-based drug treatment facility in Lowell, Mass., that has conducted peer education programs for men in a county jail and a county house of correction since 1989. Its six-session course has been accredited by Middlesex Community College and covers HIV transmission, symptoms, testing procedures, high-risk behaviors, and sexually transmitted diseases. Lowell House also conducts follow-up sessions open to all former students. Project Alerta in Albuquerque emphasizes bringing about significant, positive change in the lives of women trained as HIV peer educators at the Bernalillo County Detention Center.