Lecture

About one out of every six prisoners is estimated to be infected with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Therefore, prisons offer a great opportunity to control the epidemic of HCV. New HCV treatments are very effective but are also outrageously expensive; thus prisons are pressed to prioritize treatment decisions for HCV-infected inmates. We propose a mathematical modeling framework and develop a spreadsheet-based decision support tool to support HCV treatment prioritization decisions in prisons.

How states care for prison inmates has serious budget implications during incarceration, and carries important public health and public safety ramifications after release.

The Project ECHO Model was developed to improve access to care for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Through the use of videoconferencing, primary care clinicians meet weekly with HCV specialists at an academic center to discuss HCV cases and develop a treatment plan. In 2010, Project ECHO published data demonstrating no difference in achieving sustained virologic response (SVR) or cure in patients treated at the academic medical center as compared to patients treated within the New Mexico state prison system or rural or underserved community setting.

Substance use and HIV have become entwined epidemics that have an impact on individual’s physical and mental health outcomes. Of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the US, 77.0% are currently linked to HIV care and 51.0% are retained in HIV care. However, fewer than fifty percent are currently being prescribed HAART to treat their HIV infection (CDC, 2011). An HIV Care Continuum model has been developed and adopted by the CDC as a sequential step-by-step process that helps guide individuals living with HIV achieve viral load suppression (Kilmarx & Mutasa-Apollo, 2013).

Background: Little is known about patterns of self-harm following release from prison. 

Aim: To better understand the incidence and contextual characterisation of self-harm in adults following release from prison.

Methods: Baseline self-report interviews with 1315 adults immediately prior to release from prison in Queensland, Australia, then interrogation of linked health data from >3750 post-release emergency department presentations and >2000 ambulance attendances.