Participatory Prison Community-based HIV Prevention Feasibility Research Project (P4HIV)

Project Funding: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Catalyst Grant)
Project Period: 2012 – 2014

Individuals with incarceration experience have a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS than the general population. HIV prevention and treatment in prison faces many barriers. Our objective was to determine whether a HIV prevention program, developed in collaboration with currently incarcerated men and piloted outside prison, is effective in improving health knowledge and HIV prevention behaviours.

Twelve incarcerated men participated from the medium security Mission Institution in May 2014. Four major themes emerged, as voiced by the participants:

  1. Increased HIV education/information, which decreased their stigma and fear;
  2. Improved awareness about HIV-prevention and treatment;
  3. Increased social cohesion; and,
  4. Increased awareness about action with which they might engage.

Participants described their difficulty in trusting others because they fear letting people into their personal space. These men stated that it was not normal for them to talk to people that were not part of their own group of friends with whom they shared a level of trust. The participants began talking to other inmates in the institution who approached them with questions about the HIV-prevention workshops. Participants radiated knowledge to their incarcerated peers, families, and communities. This feasibility project paves the way for future community-based research HIV interventions that collaborate with correctional organizations and engage incarcerated men.

Project Publications and Resources:

Martin RE, Turner R, Howett L, Howard T, Hanberg D, Buxton JA, Moravan V, Oliffe JL. Twelve Committed Men: the Feasibility of a Community-Based Participatory HIV-Prevention Intervention within a Canadian Men’s Correctional Facility. Glob Health Promot. 2016 Oct 25.  http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1757975916659045