The Health of Italian Prison Inmates Today: A Critical Approach

Esposito, Maurizio

doi:10.1177/1078345810366867

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Likewise, little is known about treatment of HIV among inmates [ 7 , 10 , 11 , 14 ]. Medical assistance to HIV-infected individuals is a relevant issue in the community of inmates and treatment monitoring is essential to guarantee an appropriate use of antiretroviral drugs and high quality patient care [ 7 , 10 , 15 – 18 ]. Point-prevalence studies based on existing medical data in correctional institutes could help to better understand the spread of HIV as well as elaborate successful prevention and care strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HIV treatment and care among Italian inmates: a one-month point survey

et al. 2015

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BackgroundHIV infection, with an estimated prevalence be between 2 and 50 times those of the general adult population is a major health challenge for prison authorities worldwide. Since no nationwide surveillance system is present in Italy, data on HIV prevalence and treatment in prisons are limited to only a few and small observational studies. We aimed to estimate HIV prevalence and obtain an overview on diagnostic and therapeutic activities concerning HIV infection in the Italian penitentiary system.MethodsWe piloted a multi-centre cross-sectional study investigating the prevalence of HIV infection and assessing HIV-related medical activities in Italian correctional institutions.ResultsA total of 15,675 prisoners from 25 institutions, accounting for approximately one-fourth of the prison inmates in Italy, were included in the study, of whom, 97.7 % were males, 37.1 % foreigners and 27 % had a history of intravenous drug addiction. HIV-tests were available in 42.3 % of the total population, with a known HIV Infection proportion of 5.1 %. In the month prior to the study, 604 of the 1,764 subjects who entered prison were tested for HIV, with a HIV-positive prevalence of 3.3 %. Among the 338 HIV-positive prisoners, 81.4 % were under antiretroviral treatment and 73.5 % showed undetectable HIV-RNA. In 23/338 (6.8 %) a coinfection with HBV and in 189/338 (55.9 %) with HCV was also present. Among the 67 (19.8 %) inmates with HIV who did not receive HIV treatment, 13 (19.5 %) had T-CD4+ count <350 cells/mm3 and 9 (69.2 %) of these had refused the treatment. The majority of the inmates with HIV-infection were on a PI-based (62.5 %) or on NNRTIs-based (24.4 %) regimen. Only a minority of patients received once daily regimens (17.2 %).ConclusionsAlthough clinical and therapeutic management of HIV infection remains difficult in Italian prisons, diagnostics, treatment and care were offered to the majority of HIV-infected inmates. Specific programs should be directed towards the prison population and strict cooperation between prison and health institutions is needed to increase HIV treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HIV treatment and care among Italian inmates: a one-month point survey

et al. 2015

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“…Poor health is not uncommon among detainees and prison inmates (Braithwaite and Arriola, 2003;Esposito, 2010;Fazel and Baillargeon, 2011). Most of this health burden depends on mental disorders (Kanato, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental disorders in Italian prisoners: Results of the REDiMe study

Macciò

Meloni

Sisti

et al. 2015

Psychiatry Research

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“…To make matters worse, about 67% of inmates have at least one medical condition [21]; 11.5% of these are affected by infectious and parasitic diseases, 11.4% by diseases of the cardio-circulatory system, and 5.4% by diseases of the respiratory system [21,22]. In addition, 62% of inmates are 40 years old or even older and, according to the December 31st 2019 data, 5221 people were over 60 years old [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Risk Management and Screening in the Penitentiary Facilities of the Salerno Province in Southern Italy

Pagano

Maiese

Izzo

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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(1) Background: The emergency linked to the spread of COVID-19 in Italy has led to inevitable consequences on the penitentiary system. The risks of this emergency in prisons is mainly related to the problem of persistent overcrowding that makes social distancing difficult and the isolation of any contagion hard to arrange. The Department of Protection for Adults and Minors of the ASL Salerno Criminal Area has taken steps in order to perform screening operations and minimize the risks for prisoners and operators. (2) Methods: We conducted a two-phase observational study. In the first phase, we offered and then executed serum COVID-19 screening to all the convicted inmates. For those who had a doubtful or positive result, a swab was executed in the shortest time possible. In the second phase, a pharyngeal swab was offered and executed to all the police officers, the penitentiary administrative staff and the medical personnel working in the prison. (3) Results: In the first phase, we executed 485 COVID-19 blood tests on prisoners, 3 (0.61%) of which were positive. The three positive inmates underwent nasopharyngeal swabbing, which ultimately were negative. After that, we executed 276 nasopharyngeal swabs on the prison personnel, penitentiary administrative staff and medical personnel—all were negative. (4) Conclusion: All tests (blood tests and swabs) that were carried out on the prisoners and on the staff were negative for COVID-19. We believe that all prisons in Italy and in the world should take action to ensure preventive and control measures in order to safeguard the health of the prison population and of all the people who work there.

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The Health of Italian Prison Inmates Today: A Critical Approach

Cited by 17 publications

References 8 publications

HIV treatment and care among Italian inmates: a one-month point survey

HIV treatment and care among Italian inmates: a one-month point survey

Mental disorders in Italian prisoners: Results of the REDiMe study

COVID-19 Risk Management and Screening in the Penitentiary Facilities of the Salerno Province in Southern Italy

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