They would rather assume they are uninfected than face the anxiety of the testing process. Additionally, they have a very real fear of discrimination if they are HIV positive. It is rare to have such a contained audience for health messages. While inmates with AIDS often may have been hard to reach in their previous lives on the streets, their entry into the correctional system is an ideal time to try to change their behaviors. Despite these barriers and the reluctance of Americans to dedicate tax dollars toward improving the health of this unseen population, Braithwaite maintains that something must be done to slow the rising HIV infection rates in this group.
Society needs to be proactive now to control a rising epidemic.
These problems are not going to go away. They are going to get worse and they will eventually affect more than just people in prison. All Rights Reserved. Web version by Jaime Henriquez .