In 2010 the incarceration rate for males was 1,352 per 100,000 men, or 1.35% of the US male population (Glaze, 2011). The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, which creates a unique high-risk population for incidence and prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is 1.5% (20,075 cases) for males in state and federal prisons (Marushak & Beavers, 2009). This is in excess of the approximate .38% of the general population currently living with HIV/AIDS. The rate ratio in male inmates versus the general population is 3.9, meaning there is a significant positive association between HIV/AIDS and prison. Common behaviors that are considered
…show more content…
An individual may be segregated and receive inadequate medical treatment. (National AIDS Trust, 2003). HIV treatment is extremely expensive and can strain a prison’s resources. The discrimination and stigmatization that come with an HIV+ status or merely the associated behaviors marginalize at risk populations, which is only worsened by being in prison. The possible discrimination makes inmates less likely to get tested for and/or disclose their HIV status (Kantor, 2006). The reluctance of inmates to seek treatment, or merely to get tested for the virus, increases the likelihood of acquiring HIV within prison and infecting others before and after release. While discrimination and stigma start before a man becomes part of the prison population the prison environment further exacerbates the risk of …show more content…
For example, education and employment opportunities both impact poverty and vice versa. With this understanding, the prison environment must be looked at as an overarching social determinant, which affects other determinants within its walls. The physical environment of the prison can be thought of as a “social determinant by mediating the vicious cycle of concentration, amplification, deterioration, dissemination or overburdening, and post-release morbidity and mortality” (Awofeso, 2010, pp. 26) of HIV/AIDS. Aspects of the prison environment such as lack of sterile syringes, rampant sexual contact without access to condoms, and lack of autonomy, disallows the prisoners who engage in HIV risky behaviors the ability to practice them safely. “Where access to care is compromised, the risk of infection from relatively few exposures to a chronic carrier of HIV is exacerbated” (Graham, Treadwell, & Braithwaite,
An individual may be segregated and receive inadequate medical treatment. (National AIDS Trust, 2003). HIV treatment is extremely expensive and can strain a prison’s resources. The discrimination and stigmatization that come with an HIV+ status or merely the associated behaviors marginalize at risk populations, which is only worsened by being in prison. The possible discrimination makes inmates less likely to get tested for and/or disclose their HIV status (Kantor, 2006). The reluctance of inmates to seek treatment, or merely to get tested for the virus, increases the likelihood of acquiring HIV within prison and infecting others before and after release. While discrimination and stigma start before a man becomes part of the prison population the prison environment further exacerbates the risk of …show more content…
For example, education and employment opportunities both impact poverty and vice versa. With this understanding, the prison environment must be looked at as an overarching social determinant, which affects other determinants within its walls. The physical environment of the prison can be thought of as a “social determinant by mediating the vicious cycle of concentration, amplification, deterioration, dissemination or overburdening, and post-release morbidity and mortality” (Awofeso, 2010, pp. 26) of HIV/AIDS. Aspects of the prison environment such as lack of sterile syringes, rampant sexual contact without access to condoms, and lack of autonomy, disallows the prisoners who engage in HIV risky behaviors the ability to practice them safely. “Where access to care is compromised, the risk of infection from relatively few exposures to a chronic carrier of HIV is exacerbated” (Graham, Treadwell, & Braithwaite,