RESUMO
HIV presents particular problem in penal establishments: the nature of the population; conditions in prison; media attention and misinformation; the possibility of transmission within and beyond the prison population; the extra issues that apply to female prisoners. These are discussed in the context of prison policy regarding HIV and the broad strategic approach which is being adopted to manage the problem of HIV within penal institutions. Counselling has a key role in the overall strategy. Pre- and post-test counselling with prisoners is described and the particular problems presented by inmates are discussed and illustrated by reference to case histories. Developments in counselling provision for inmates are outlined.
PIP: This paper explores on HIV counseling in prisons. HIV infection presents particular problems in penal establishments including the nature of prison conditions, attention and misinformation by the media, transmission of HIV infection with prisoners and outsiders, and the extra issues that apply to female prisoners. All these are discussed in the context of prison service policy regarding HIV infection and the broad strategic approach employed to manage the problem within penal establishments where counseling played a key role. Moreover, this article features the pre-test and post-test counseling and problems presented by inmates, which are discussed and illustrated with reference to several case histories. Also outlined are developments in counseling provision for prisoners. Pre-test counseling, which is performed to ensure knowledge of the test, presents additional problems in the penal setting because of difficulties in maintaining absolute confidentiality of results, mismatch of counseling expectations and motivations with counseling aims, and unique problems for the development of safer behavior. Meanwhile, post-test counseling with HIV-positive inmates is problematic and requires particular skills of the counselors. It should be recognized that prison could represent an opportunity to offer education and counseling to a unique and vulnerable population.
