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Only 38 percent of those linked to
HIV care while in jail maintain steady checkups after release, according to a
Yale University School of Medicine study reported by MedPage Today.
Frederick Altice, MD, announced his
preliminary findings, which have not yet been subject to peer review, at the
IDWeek 2012 meeting in San Diego. Altice and his colleagues studied 867
prisoners in 10 urban areas, following them for six months after their release
from jail. Defining care retention as two quarterly clinic visits that included
either a CD4 count or viral load test, the Yale team found that just 38 percent
of those studied met this vital benchmark. Meanwhile, 34 percent had no visits
throughout the six-month period; 19 percent had one visit in the first quarter;
and 8 percent made just the second quarterly appointment.
The study also found that those who
had seen an HIV provider before entering jail were 67 percent more likely to
remain in care; the care retention rate for women was half that of men; heroin
users were 49 percent more likely to remain in care; and an HIV education
session after release doubled retention rates, as did education on HIV
management during imprisonment.
To read the MedPage Today article,
visit: http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/35474
The
Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for
HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to
prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS
Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
