Acceptability of a Community Health Worker Program to Link High-Risk People in Jail to HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

Authors: S. Alexandra Marshall, Caroline Barham, Taylor Neher, Melissa J. Zielinski, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, Margaret M. Gorvine, Nickolas Zaller

This article investigated the acceptability of community health worker programs that would provide incarcerated individuals with pre-exposure prophylaxis. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with high-risk men and women in the carceral system in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Additionally, interviews were conducted with key stakeholders, such as HIV care providers. Interviews included topics of HIV awareness, PrEP knowledge and interest, and potential barriers of taking PrEP while incarcerated. Researchers discovered that study participants were receptive to a CHW-lead PrEP intervention, and that the intervention would fill an important health care gap in the American prison system.