Junior LG; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12; 14: abstract no. E11508.

National STD and AIDS Programme Office, Brasilia- DF, Brazil

BACKGROUND: There are about 100.000 prisoners in the Sao Paulo State Prison System, distributed over a total of 75 prison premises .It is a precarious system: prisons are vilent places and have low ability to solve problems. The inmates of the system present indices of HIV soroprevalence of around 15%.There exist substantial difficulties for establishing epidemiological parameters and levels of access and adherence to treatment are low METHODS: The aim of the study was to become familiar with the conditions with respect to the health vulnerability of the prison population. A cohort was established, based on those prisoners who were carriers of HIV/Aids, and the research was formulated around survey-action methodology, involving both institutional practitioners from government service, as well as from non-governmental organisations, during the whole process RESULTS: This study enabled us to arrive at a diagnosis of the institutional and situational condition of the prison population based upon indices connected with institutional, social and behavioural vulnerability, and jointly to build a number of participatory strategies geared towards dealing with the problems presented. An efficient, decentralised and sustainable health care model, acknowledged as a reference system within Sao Paulo, was consolidated CONCLUSIONS: The deconstruction of value,ideas, feelings and socially formed behaviours were observed throughout both the research stages and the concurrent interventions. This made it possible for us to examine and reflect upon changes in power relationships, involving prison managements, the wardens and the interns themselves. This experience demonstrated overall that it is entirely possible to mobilise and to consolidate efforts to bring about institutional and behavioural changes and a degree of social balance by working jointly on activities associated with prevention and care in an integrated manner and at low cost from a financial point of view

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Brazil
• Counseling
• Data Collection
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Prisoners
• Prisons
• Research
• drug therapy
• methods
• therapy

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0019613

UI: 102257111

From Meeting Abstracts