title: Voluntary STD testing and treatment program at a metropolitan correctional facility: evaluation of test acceptability and associated risk factors.
abstract: Few studies have addressed challenges of diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) within correctional facilities. Initiatives that screen all inmates can be cost-prohibitive, while symptom-based screening undoubtedly fails to recognize significant numbers of asymptomatically infected persons. This study discusses a voluntary STD screening and treatment program developed at the Douglas County (Nebraska) Department of Corrections where student volunteers interviewed, screened, and educated 456 inmates. Inmate urine samples and interview responses about risk behaviors and motivators for participation in the screening program were analyzed. The results support the ongoing project method to screen and treat inmates in the community correctional facility. Risk factor analysis suggests that targeted testing and treatment efforts may have a role in providing cost-effective care for STD among the incarcerated population.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Earley
authors.forename: Raees
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shaikh
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fickenscher
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Person
authors.forename: K M Monirul
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.forename: Uriel
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sandkovsky
authors.forename: Katherine Laux
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foxall
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Margalit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015995:Prevalence; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D016482:Urinalysis
keywords: education; epidemiology; jails; screening; sexually transmitted disease