HIV/AIDS is a serious health problem among prisoners and constitutes a big\nchallenge for prison administration services, public health services and governments.\nAims: Determine the prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners\nand describe associated factors. Population and Methods: This was a descriptive\nand analytical cross-sectional study conducted from December 2015\nto October 2016. A sample of 600 prisoners was randomly interviewed nationwide.\nThey were selected directly from the sample frame from across the\ncountry and proportionally from all sites. Pre-established questionnaires providing\ninformation on the sociodemographic and biological characteristics of\nprisoners were used for the collection of data. Data entry and analysis were\nperformed using EXCEL and SPSS 18 software. Results: The survey was based\non a randomised sample of 600 prisoners, 593 of whom accepted blood extraction\nfor the HIV testing. The series was mainly composed of males (89%).\nThe median age was 33 years (18 - 69). The level of education among respondents\nwas 60%. Regarding marital status, the proportion of married prisoners\nwas 51.8%. Almost three-quarters (71.5%) were at their first imprisonment\nand 51.8% were on preventive detention. The reasons for imprisonment\nvaried and were dominated by drug use (35.3%), while only 4.6% confessed\nthat they continued using drugs while in prison. 97.8% of prisoners have had\na sexual experience. Their median age was 19 years at their first sexual intercourse.\n20.5% reported using a condom during their first intercourse. Multi\npartnership was estimated at 17.8%. The prevalence of HIV infection was\nhigh among prisoners (2%), the quadruple of the national rate. This prevalence \nwas associated with female sex (4.5%) (p = 0.012) and housewives\n(12.5%) (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Prisoners are very vulnerable to HIV infection\nwith a high prevalence compared to the national rate, hence the\nneed for the enforcement of effective HIV prevention and care measures in\nprisons.
Loading....