摘要：US prison inmates are disproportionately indigent young men of color. These individuals are severely affected by HIV/AIDS, largely owing to the high-risk behavior that they engage in prior to incarceration. Researchers and practitioners have issued a call for the importance of offering HIV prevention services in prison settings. However, this call has largely been ignored. In this article, we outline reasons why these recommendations have been largely ignored, discuss innovative HIV prevention programs that are currently being implemented in prison settings, and offer recommendations for securing support for HIV prevention services in correctional settings. IT IS WELL DOCUMENTED that health disparities in disease status between people of color and Whites exist outside of prison walls. 1– 3 In the case of HIV/AIDS, epidemiological data clearly show a heavier burden of illness among African American and Latino males than White males. 4 Given the legal mandates on prisons to provide inmates with the same quality and standard of health care available in the community, the potential for equity in access to HIV prevention services is greater in prison than in most local communities where African Americans and Latinos live. Some practitioners argue that for those infected with HIV, this is a benefit of prison life. These individuals tend to be poor, to lack formal education, to be unemployed prior to incarceration, and to have inadequate legal representation. 5, 6 For far too many African American and Latino inmates, prison affords a first-time opportunity to experience a complete medical and dental examination as well as access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care by certified health providers. This demographic profile, together with research that suggests that many men of color engage in HIV risk behavior prior to incarceration, 7 has prompted numerous authors to argue that incarceration offers an ideal opportunity for the delivery of health education programs and especially HIV prevention messages that focus on high-risk behaviors. 7– 12 The purpose of this article is threefold. First, it outlines the reasons why HIV prevention services continue to be underused despite repeated calls for an increase in the availability of these services. Second, it discusses innovative HIV prevention programs that are currently being conducted as part of the federally funded Corrections Demonstration Project. Third, it offers recommendations for generating the necessary support to implement HIV prevention services for men in prison.
