title: Point-of-care testing for HIV in an Irish prison setting: results from three major Irish prisons.
abstract: HIV is more prevalent in the prison population compared to the general population. Prison inmates are at an increased risk of blood-borne infections. Considerable stigma has been documented amongst inmates with HIV infection. In collaboration with the schools, healthcare facilities, prison authorities and inmate Irish Red Cross groups in Wheatfield, Cloverhill and Mountjoy prisons in Dublin, Ireland, the Department of Genito Urinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases at St James' Hospital in Dublin developed a campaign for raising awareness of HIV, educating inmates about HIV and tackling HIV stigma. Following this campaign, large-scale point-of-care testing for HIV was offered over a short period. In total, 741 inmates were screened for HIV. One inmate tested positive for HIV. We experienced a large number of invalid test results, requiring formal laboratory serum testing, and a small number of false positive results. Large-scale point-of-care testing in the Irish prison setting is acceptable and achievable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases (GUIDE), St James's Hospital, Ireland cbannan@stjames.ie.
authors.forename: Ciaran L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Bannan
authors.affiliation: Prison Healthcare Service, Irish Prison Service, Ireland.
authors.forename: Pamela A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.affiliation: Prison Healthcare Service, Irish Prison Service, Ireland.
authors.forename: Emmett P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.affiliation: Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases (GUIDE), St James's Hospital, Ireland.
authors.forename: Siobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Dea
authors.affiliation: Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases (GUIDE), St James's Hospital, Ireland.
authors.forename: Saloni
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Surah
authors.affiliation: Community Based Health and First Aid in Prisons, Irish Red Cross, Ireland.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Betts-Symonds
authors.affiliation: Department of Genitourinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases (GUIDE), St James's Hospital, Ireland.
authors.forename: Fiona E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Lyons
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D000067716:Point-of-Care Testing; D015995:Prevalence; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011330:Prisons; D012307:Risk Factors; D057545:Social Stigma
keywords: Europe; HIV/AIDS; point-of-care testing; prison; screening; stigma