The purpose of this article is to formulate a standard of medical care and related services for HIV-infected and at-risk incarcerated women. To formulate this standard of HIV care, we have reviewed existing correctional models of HIV management in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York; nationally accepted guidelines for HIV treatment; and published descriptions of the health care needs of incarcerated women. Drug use, sex work, sexual abuse, and the socio-economic and gender-specific conditions of the lives of women who are at risk of arrest have made them particularly susceptible to HIV infection. Complex HIV treatment regimens, structural components of correctional systems, and incarcerated women’s mistrust of correctional medical care may impede delivery of quality HIV care. We describe here a standard of HIV care that addresses the unique needs of incarcerated women and the constraints of the correctional system, and incorporates HIV testing, medical care (including gynecological and obstetric care), educational and support services, and discharge planning.
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