HIV and reincarceration: time for a comprehensive approach

Abstract

Individuals who are released from prison have complex health needs that are too often unmet by health-care systems.1,2 In The Lancet HIV, Jaimie Meyer and colleagues3 describe longitudinal treatment outcomes for a cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS who repeatedly interact with the criminal justice system. Their analysis showed very low rates of viral suppression for individuals incarcerated more than once. Although national surveillance data suggest that more than 70% of people who are prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) achieve viral suppression, only 31% of patients incarcerated more than once, all of whom previously received ART, had viral suppression at the time of reincarceration.