During incarceration, many HIV-infected prisoners receive care and are adherent to medication. However, following release, many have difficulty engaging in HIV care and remaining on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Community-based service providers for HIV-infected releasees have a deep understanding of the health needs and challenges these individuals face on community re-entry. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 38 health care and service professionals in 2 U.S. southern states regarding the barriers releasees faced in meeting their health needs, including HIV care and treatment post-release. Individual, community, and organization-level barriers to HIV care and treatment adherence post-release were identified and offered unique insight into the ways that these multi-level obstacles affect HIV-infected former prisoners’ abilities to engage in care and access necessary social services. Provider perspectives should be considered when designing interventions to support HIV care after release.
The African couples HIV testing and counseling (CHTC) model, which focuses on heterosexual couples, was adapted for same-sex male couples in the US. This paper presents the results of a follow-up survey conducted with representatives of the agencies that received CHTC training. The paper aims to understand the post-training implementation and identify critical technical assistance gaps. There are clear needs for continual learning opportunities, focused on the key skills required for CHTC, and for resources aimed at tackling agency-level concerns about service provision and integration. Central to this is the need for implementation science research that can identify the messages that are effective in encouraging couples to utilize CHTC and test models of service integration.
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