AEGiS-06IAC: Trends in HIV antibody testing and housing policies for infected prisoners among U.S. correctional systems, 1985-1989.

6th International AIDS Conference

San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

Trends in HIV antibody testing and housing policies for infected prisoners among U.S. correctional systems, 1985-1989.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:347 (abstract no. Th.D.886)
Moini S, Hammett T; Abt Associates, Cambridge MA, USA

OBJECTIVE: Identification and explanation of trends in policies regarding HIV antibody testing and housing of HIV-infected prisoners, two central indicators of the correctional response to the HIV epidemic.

METHODS: Based on annual surveys of US federal, state and local correctional systems sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, US Department of Justice.

RESULTS: Between 1986-1987 there was a sharp increase in mandatory HIV screening among correctional systems, followed by a relative leveling off between 1987-1989. There has also been a recent rise in the number of systems offering voluntary or on-request testing. In housing policy, there has been a trend (particularly since 1987) away from presumptive segregation of HIV-infected inmates and toward presumptive general-population placement or case-by-case decisions. The sharp increase in mass screening was prompted by internal factors (e.g., demands by staff and inmates) and external factors (e.g., the intense public and political pressure for testing in 1987). The subsequent leveling of the testing policy trend is attributable to the waning of external pressures and perceived problems of cost, confidentiality, and usefulness of test results. The rise of voluntary/on-request testing has been primarily associated with the growing possibility of early medical intervention. The trend in housing policy is likewise attributable to concerns regarding cost, confidentiality, and utility as well as to the realization that assessment of individual medical and security needs represents a better basis for housing and programming decisions than HIV status alone. Lawsuits have also played a role.

CONCLUSIONS: Since 1987, US correctional systems have evolved more rational and measured policy responses to HIV/AIDS.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Antibodies, Prisoners, Public Policy, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Housing, HIV Seroprevalence, HIV Infections, HIV, HIV Seropositivity, HIV-1, Anti-HIV Agents, Health Services Needs and Demand, Mass Screening, Health Policy, United States, trends, ICA6

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ThD886