231638 HIV Testing is Prevention especially for African American Women with Histories of Incarceration

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 11:10 AM - 11:30 AM

Juarlyn Gaiter, PhD , Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA
Cynthia Prather , Prevention Research Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Lisa Kimbrough, MS , Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA
Roberto Mejia, DDS, PhD , Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA
This paper discusses the confluence of the HIV epidemic among African American women, their alarming numbers among incarcerated populations and the urgency of public health efforts to get more women tested. The prevalence of HIV infection among incarcerated African American women is disproportionately high compared to the prevalence among incarcerated men. Multiple, complex reasons for this include poverty, exposure to violence and abuse, unemployment, substance use, and unstable living conditions. These social and structural factors raise the risk that women will engage in criminal behaviors such as illegal drug use and commercial sex work, and consequently expose them to incarceration and HIV. The CDC's Women's Testing Project funded three community-based organizations and one university to assess how well three HIV testing strategies -- social networks, alternative venue testing, and targeted outreach identify African American women with undiagnosed infection and get them into care. We found that differences in age and incarceration history influenced the success of HIV testing strategies to access women. Older women, aged 35-45 years of age were reached more successfully by social networks and alternative venue testing than were younger women who were 18-34 years of age. Also, women who had incarceration histories were more readily reached by social networks and alternative venue testing. Public health and correctional health must together develop policies that help vulnerable African American women to get tested. They can mandate that HIV-positive women receive appropriate medical care and help to prevent cycles of incarceration already endemic in men with incarceration histories.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will be able to more effectively understand the prevalence of HIV infection among incarcerated African American women and their complex reasons that include poverty, exposure to violence and abuse, unemployment, substance use, and unstable living conditions; 2. Participants will be able to more effectively assess how well three HIV testing strategies—social networks, alternative venue testing, and targeted outreach impact African American women with undiagnosed infection thereby helping to identify care services; 3. Public health and correctional health practitioners will learn how to more effectively collaborate when working with vulnerable African American women to get tested.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Prisoners Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: The presenter has authored papers and made presentations on similar topics as the conference theme and Epidemiological Criminology session.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.