Reducing postrelease risk behavior among HIV seropositive prison inmates: the health promotion program

The prevalence of AIDS is five times higher among prison inmates than in the general population. Because recidivism is common and many inmates are serving short sentences for parole violation, HIV-seropositive inmates move frequently between prison and their home communities. We designed an eight-session prerelease intervention for HIV seropositive inmates to decrease sexual and drug-related risk behavior and to increase use of community resources after release. The intervention sessions were delivered at the prison by community service providers. We found that a prerelease risk reduction intervention for HIV seropositive inmates was feasible. Descriptive results support the effectiveness of the program in reducing sexual and drug-related behaviors and in increasing use of community resources after release. Compared with men who signed up for the intervention but were unable to attend, men who received the intervention reported more use of community resources and less sexual and drug-related risk behavior in the months following release. We recommend dissemination and continued evaluation of this risk-reduction intervention.