The role played by prison officers in ensuring ART adherence on prison inmates who are HIV/AIDS infected (KweKwe Central and Conemara Prisons)

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: HIV/AIDS has severely impacted the Sub-Sahara region and Zimbabwe has been not spared of such an impact. There is high infection and mortality rates due to the impact of this disease. Prison centers within the Sub-Sahara region attract high HIV prevalence and mortality rates. This is also true in Zimbabwe prisons centers where the impact proportion is higher than that of the general population. Living with HIV/AIDS does not mean a death sentence, but ARTs have a lease of life that they have subsequently reduced the mortality rate and subsequent improvement of health. Reducing the impact of the epidemic within prison environment, where the role played by prison officers to ensure ART adherence by prison inmates living with HIV/AIDS was explored in this study. Various tools which help ensure adherence to ARTs were explored and placed in context. Questionnaires were administered; data evaluated and analyzed produced recommendations on how best ART adherence can be improved throughout the prison centre environments. Assurance of ART adherence subsequently results in viral load suppression, improvement of health and prolonging of life of those living with HIV/AIDS.Prison health staff was the only referral personnel who are handling ART adherence during day working hours and in the evening turning off of lights is used as the reminder. The rest of prison staff are out of the picture when it comes to ensuring ART adherence. It is imperative to note HIV/AIDS responsibility and taking care of prisoners living with it is all our responsibility. There is a stipulation on taking care of prisoners living with HIV/AIDS by prison staff and allocation of additional resources to the prison services to improve the quality of prison care in the National HIV/AIDS Policy, Zimbabwe (1999).Failure to adhere to respective medication among others result in drug resistance, worsening of health conditions, shortening of life and change of regimens which ultimately increase expenses to the Government providing them free of charge. There should be a proactive approach of ensuring ART adherence within prison environments. It can only be made possible by tailor made tools suitable for prison centers which aid ART adherence. These can be made to suit a targeted environment, easy to procure and apply but ensuring maximum taking of ARTs as per stipulated time intervals. Prison centers are strategic in contributing towards health rehabilitative roles on prisoners living with HIV/AIDS.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University