Bringing it home: design and implementation of an HIV/STD intervention for women visiting incarcerated men

Abstract

Incarceration has been identified as a key variable to be addressed in halting the HIV epidemic among African Americans. Our research team has been conducting and evaluating HIV prevention interventions for prisoners and their families since the early 1990s, including interventions specifically tailored to the needs of women with incarcerated partners. This article describes the development and implementation of a multicomponent HIV prevention intervention for women with incarcerated partners, and presents qualitative data from women who participated as peer educators in this intervention. Women with incarcerated partners reported low rates of condom use and HIV testing combined with a lack of information about prison-related HIV risks. We found that peer education is a feasible intervention to reach women with incarcerated partners and that flexibility and inclusiveness are important factors in designing intervention programs for this population.