Sexual behaviours of HIV-seropositive men and women following release from prison

Abstract

Twenty-five percent of the US HIV-infected population is released from a prison or jail each year. As the extent of risky sexual behaviours after prison release is largely unknown, we interviewed a cohort (n = 64) of HIV-infected, recently released (mean 45 days, SD 28) prisoners about their current sexual risk behaviours. Almost half (47%, n = 64) of the released prisoners reported sexual activity after release, mostly with regular partners. Although 26% (n = 27) reported engaging in unprotected sexual activity with their regular partners, none (n = 4) reported unprotected sex with their non-regular partners. Furthermore, 33% percent (n = 15) of the releasees with regular partners reported engaging in unprotected sex with HIV-seronegative partners. These results suggest that regular partners of HIV-infected prison releasees are at risk of acquiring HIV infection, and secondary risk-reduction strategies are needed for HIV-infected prison releasees.