New review looks at comprehensive AIDS prevention programs in prisons

In the current issue of Family Medicine and Community Health (Volume 6,Number 4, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.15212/FMCH.2018.0118: , Somayeh Zare, Mehdi Kargar, Jeyran Ostovarfar, Mohammad Hossein Kaveh of the Department of the Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran discuss how studies show that suitable design of educational programs can affect prisoners' awareness of AIDS.

However, it is not easy to study their effectiveness. So the authors posed the question of whether these programs affect significantly the decrease of HIV transmission among prisoners. Counseling and diagnostic testing are not considered as the final goals of these programs, but they help to diagnose and treat AIDS and also provide supportive programs for prisoners and decrease the risk of HIV transmission to them. Condom provision programs have been used effectively in several countries. The studies reviewed indicate that these programs have been supported more than before by officials and prisoners. They also showed if prisoners have access to condoms, they use them in their sexual contacts. The investigations illustrated the importance of NSPs whenever AIDS is prevalent. They lead to lessening of the risk of HIV transmission and also extra expenses for disease therapy. The investigations showed the effectiveness of medical therapy programs related to AIDS. MMT, as one of the most preventive and AIDS control therapies, can be effective whenever it is given appropriately. MMT can diminish the frequency of medicine use and also use of a common syringe. Principally, effective and accessible therapies influence health and safety in prisons. However, few studies have been conducted to determine the impact of decontaminant provision and safe tattooing programs in prisons, so it is not easy to evaluate their effectiveness.