Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Drug Use, and Risky Behavior Among Miami-Dade County Jail Detainees

• NCJ Number: 185410
• Journal: Corrections Today Volume: 62 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2000 Pages: 108-122
• Author(s): Michael Powelson; J. Franklin Fletcher
• Date Published: October 2000
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Blood tests and urinalysis of more than 600 detainees in Miami-Dade County (Fla.) jails between October 1999 and February 2000 provided information on the rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and inmate drug abuse, as well as the relationships between these problems and between STDs and demographic characteristics.

Abstract

Thirteen percent of the detainees tested positive for syphilis, 12 percent refused to take the test, and the remaining 75 percent tested negative. Thirty percent of the female detainees and 3 percent of the male detainees tested positive; however, none of the females and 18 percent of the males refused to take the test. Nine percent of the detainees tested positive for gonorrhea, chlamydia, or both. Forty-two percent of the detainees admitted using either crack or powder cocaine; only 3 percent reported that they were intravenous drug users. Forty-six percent of the detainees had multiple sex partners; 60 percent of detainees with multiple sex partners had STDs.