Vulnerabilidade à infecção pelo vírus hiv dos privados de liberdade do sistema penitenciário goiano.

Abstract

Prison populations are considered to be vulnerable to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) for five reasons. They are: the conditions of confinement, individual risk behavior, social marginalization, low social-economic level and low educational level. To identify the prevalence of the HIV virus and the principal social-demographic and behavioral factors which collaborate towards the increase of vulnerability of this population factors, 270 prisoners from a universe of 1,323 from the masculine prison population of the Goiás (Brazil) Penitenciary System were examined. The first step consisted of a collection of blood samples for laboratory examination as well as socialdemographic and behavioral risk studies. In the second step, selected inmates were interviewed by information saturation according to their age, period of confinement and serological results. The majority of the population studied is constituted predominantly of young adults, ranging in age from 21 to 30. In general, they are married legally or by common law and did not complete primary school; they received on the average a minimum salary monthly before prison. Of the tested prisoners, 4.1% were found to have antibodies for HIV. With respect to factors of risk for infection by HIV, 68.5% declared to have already used illegal drugs and just 21.8% use preservatives in all sexual relations. The data confirm an elevated vulnerability of the prision population of the Penitenciary System of the State of Goiás for HIV. This high vulnerability is equal to or proportional to that found in other Brazilian states and in other countries. The findings reinforce the need to establish preventional programs and policies that take into consideration the individual and social factors that make the imprisoned man vulnerable to this infection.