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Enhancing Linkages to HIV Primary Care and Services
in Jail Settings Initiative |
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University of South Carolina Research Foundation
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Project Title:
Contact:
Email:
Project Overview:
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South Carolina Linkage Program for Inmates
Divya Ahuja, MD,
Principal Investigator
University of South Carolina Research Foundation
901 Sumter Street, 5th Floor
Columbia, South Carolina, 29208
Telephone Number: (803) 777-4452
Fax Number: (803) 777-4136
Intervention:
The South Carolina Linkage Program for Inmates (SCLPI) is designed to address the core goals of identifying HIV-infected individuals in jails and promoting their participation in HIV primary care and other support services as they re-enter the community. To do so we will implement rapid testing and a brief linkage coordination intervention that has been demonstrated in clinical trials to be effective in improving linkage with HIV primary care and substance abuse treatment. We will also implement a brief educational program that will be provided to inmates immediately following their detention in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Targeted Population:
The Alvin S. Glenn Detention Facility (ASGDC) is described as a Large Adult Local Detention Facility. The ASGDC serves as the intake center for un-sentenced misdemeanor and/or felony detainees/inmates and as an incarceration facility for sentenced offenders. Medical staff is on duty 24 hours a day to ensure inmates have unimpeded access to a continuum of health care services so that their health care needs, including prevention and health education, are met in a timely and efficient manner. The rated inmate bed capacity for the ASGDC is 1116 inmates. The current average daily population for the year 2007 is 1109 approximately 10% is female. In 2006, of 6841 total bookings, 1840 were first time bookings. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental control currently has a Diseases Intervention Specialist based at the jail that does standard HIV testing as part of the Syphilis Elimination Program. This testing is voluntary, risk based, and in 2006, 345 HIV tests were done of which there were 0 new positives and 6 previously known positives. From 2002-2006, the new case rate was 0.40%.
Goals and Objectives:
The specific goals for the first year of this program are to:
1. Expand the current level of HIV testing performed in the detention center by providing rapid testing to approximately 2,400 inmates.
2. Implement a brief linkage coordination intervention that will support HIV positive inmates from the time they are diagnosed in the detention center through their linkage and retention in community-based care.
3. Improve the knowledge of jail inmates about HIV, AIDS, substance abuse and high risk behaviors using a two session educational curriculum.
Goals in Years Two through Four will be driven by results and experiences from Year One and the multi-site SPNS evaluation led by the National Evaluation and Support Center.
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Sponsored by:
- US Department of Health and Human Services
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- HIV/AIDS Bureau |
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