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Correctional Facilities as Partners in Reducing HIV Disparities

"The U.S. now has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The majority of prison and jail inmates come from predominantly nonwhite and medically underserved communities. Although incarceration has adverse effects on both individual and community health, prisons and jails have also been used successfully as venues to provide health services to people with HIV who frequently lack stable health care. We review demographic trends shaping the difficulties in providing care to incarcerated people with HIV, and recommend the Centers for AIDS Research Collaboration on HIV in Corrections (CFAR-CHIC) as a model of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing those difficulties." This article examines: racial and ethnic disparities; women and adolescents; aging prisoners; comorbidities; linkage to care; and the Centers for AIDS Research Collaboration on HIV in Corrections (CFAR-CHIC).