Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Among Inpatient Pretrial Detainees

• NCJ Number: 160303
• Journal: Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: (1995) Pages: 285-288
• Author(s): D Schwartz-Watts; L D Montgomery; D W Morgan
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This retrospective study used medical records to examine the seroprevalence of HIV among 311 psychiatric inpatients in a forensic pretrial setting in South Carolina.

Abstract

HIV antibody test results were obtained for 74 percent of patients between the ages of 18 and 55 years. The incidence of HIV seropositivity among this sample was 5.5 percent, more than 40 times the incidence for the general population in the State. Intravenous drug use was reported by one-third of the seropositive males. More than 40 percent of the seropositive subjects in this sample were unaware of their serostatus upon admission to the pretrial facility. The findings highlight the importance of early intervention for purposes of treatment and education. The results suggest that mentally ill criminal offenders are at high risk of acquiring HIV infection and should be tested upon intake. 1 table, 1 appendix, and 6 references