Aids and prisons. Prisoners little and ill informed. The Nps survey

Poor hygiene, contact with saliva and the urine of an HIV-positive person, and two in three inmates are convinced that mosquitoes transmit HIV. Instead, the risks badociated with fighting and possible infection are underestimated by exchanging brushes and razors. The most alarming fact is that one in three inmates states that he would not be receiving treatment if he found out he had HIV. This is the result of the project of Nps Italia Onlus, University Ca. Foscari of Venice, SIMSPe

30 JUL – The video "Prisoners, but free of HIV" tells the experience the Flew project (Free of stars well in prison with HIV) through the voices of the protagonists who took part in HIV education and prevention actions and the fight against the discrimination of people with HIV inmates. The video was presented at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam as part of one of the sessions organized by EATG entitled "Prison Health and Beyond".

For the first time in Italy, in 10 penitentiary institutions, it was possible to introduce, thanks to the work of the Simpsee, the rapid capillary tests of HIV which have been well received by the prison police and not only by prisoners. The directors of the penitentiary structures and the prison police directors were involved in each phase to promote the comprehensiveness of the actions.

The central action of the peer education was entrusted to two former HIV prisoners, non-profit activists from Nps Italia who were able to establish a horizontal dialogue with the detainees and supervise research activities coordinated by the University Ca. Foscari. that HIV in prisons is scary, but for the wrong reasons.

Frightened hygiene, contact with saliva and the urine of a person living with HIV and two in three inmates are convinced that mosquitoes transmit HIV. Prison officers fear spitting that they are a common form of rebellion on the part of some inmates. All fears come from false beliefs, but they create fears and possible marginalization of HIV-positive prisoners.

On the other hand, the risks related to possible fights between prisoners are considered underestimated, considered harmless by half of the interviewees, whereas they constitute a real danger because the spill of blood is in these cases the norm. Even the risk of possible contagion by exchanging toothbrushes and razors is very underestimated. But the most alarming fact is that one in three prisoners states they do not take treatment when they discover that he has HIV . This is a disturbing and incomprehensible fact considering that the therapies available today are very effective and allow us to lead an almost "normal" life. But an inmate who does not believe in therapy will probably not be motivated to take the HIV test and keep it hidden when he finds out.

The results of the research are a real badet in understanding what interventions need to be carried out for an increasingly effective prevention and fight against HIV in Italian prisons. The importance of the project has finally been recognized at the European level and has been included as a best practice in the latest guidelines on active search for communicable diseases-in-prisons.

July 30, 2018
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