HIV/STI Risk Behavior of Drug Court Participants

Abstract

Drug abusing offenders have high rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). To date, the HIV/STI prevention needs of offenders in drug court programs have been ignored. This multi-method study employed interviews to assess drug court professionals’ perceptions of the need for an HIV risk reduction intervention to be integrated into the services provided to drug court participants. Then, surveys were completed by 235 drug court participants to assess whether their sexual risk behaviors affirmed the need for such an intervention. The survey also assessed demographic characteristics, drug use prior to program entry, HIV knowledge, and condom attitudes. The relationship between duration in the drug court program and sexual risk behavior was also examined. Implications for the development and delivery of HIV risk reduction interventions within drug court programs are discussed.

Community Legal Systems: Targeting PrEP and HIV Education to Decrease Risk of HIV Transmission

“…Adult Drug Court (ADC) Best Practice Standards encourage interventions to reduce HIV among ADC enrollees, yet very few ADCs address HIV prevention [ 9 , 10 , 13 ]. HIV prevention education and support for HIV testing are far from universal in these high-risk populations [ 58 ].…”

“…Drug courts and criminal justice programs serving individuals in community settings have recently received encouragement for a greater focus on HIV interventions [9,10,13]. Further, an array of venues have been proposed as useful in reaching at-risk populations, such as communitybased health offices [14][15][16]; however, embedding HIV education into the required programming may make access most effective.…”

“…Beyond the geographic location, HIV risks are high for individuals involved in the legal system, even those in community settings [ 8 – 10 ]. For example, community settings include individuals on probation, parole (P-P), or involved in Adult Drug Courts (ADC).…”

“…However, they are at increased risk of exposure to risky sexual behaviors and injection drug use [ 11 ]. Less is known about participants of ADCs except that they share many of the demographic factors placing them at risk for HIV [ 10 ]. For example, high rates of opioid and other illicit drug use by injection have been reported in ADC populations [ 12 ].…”

One Step at a Time: A Latent Transitional Analysis on Changes in Substance Use, Exposure to Violence, and HIV/AIDS Risk Behaviors among Female Offenders

“…Research by Robertson, St. Lawrence, and McCluskey (2012) found that Drug Court participants perceived their risk of HIV/AIDS as low, though substance use and risky sexual behaviors are often co-occurring and synergistic. Lastly, female substance users involved with additional interventions such as case management have been shown to significantly reduce their substance use over time (Corsi et al, 2012).…”