Policies and practices in the delivery of HIV services in correctional agencies and facilities: results from a multisite survey.
HIV risk is disproportionately high among incarcerated individuals. Corrections agencies have been slow to implement evidence-based guidelines and interventions for HIV prevention, testing, and treatment. The emerging field of implementation science focuses on organizational interventions to facilitate adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices. A survey of correctional agency partners from the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) revealed that HIV policies and practices in prevention, detection, and medical care varied widely, with some corrections agencies and facilities closely matching national guidelines and/or implementing evidence-based interventions. Others, principally attributed to limited resources, had numerous gaps in delivery of best HIV service practices. A brief overview is provided of a new CJ-DATS cooperative research protocol, informed by the survey findings, to test an organization-level intervention to reduce HIV service delivery gaps in corrections.
1Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Steven
S
Belenko
Matthew
M
Hiller
Christy
C
Visher
Michael
M
Copenhaver
Daniel
D
O'Connell
William
W
Burdon
Jennifer
J
Pankow
Jennifer
J
Clarke
Carrie
C
Oser
D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration; D006298:Health Services Administration; D008403:Mass Screening; D057766:Policy; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration*
D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents
HIV policies; correctional health care; evidence-based practice; implementation; inmates