Collaborative research to prevent HIV among male prison inmates and their female partners

Despite the need for targeted HIV prevention interventions for prison inmat es, institutional and access barriers have impeded development and evaluati on of such programs. Over the past 6 years, the authors have developed a un ique collaborative relationship to develop and evaluate HIV prevention inte rventions for prison inmates. The collaboration includes an academic resear ch institution (the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco), a community-based organization (Centerforce), and the staff and inmate peer educators inside a state prison. In this ongo ing collaboration, the authors have developed and evaluated a series of HN prevention interventions for prison inmates and for women who visit prison inmates. Results of these studies support the feasibility and effectiveness of HIV prevention programs for inmates and their partners both in prison a nd in the community. Access and institutional barriers to HIV intervention research in prisons can be overcome through the development of collaborativ e research partnerships.