Highlights:
Voluntary counselling and testing programs raise awareness, provide education, dispel myths, reduce levels of HIV-related discrimination, and detect those in need of care and treatment
- Evidence shows that needle exchange programs in prisons stabilize or decrease the level of drug use, reduce needle sharing, and stabilize or reduce HIV transmission
- There is no evidence that prison-based needle exchange programs have serious, unintended negative consequences
- Methadone maintenance programs in the U.S., France, and Australia facilitated re-entry in the community, reduced re-incarceration risk, and heroin use declined significantly
- Condom distribution programs raise awareness and reinforce HIV prevention messages, and reduce HIV transmission rates
- Peer education models in correctional environments appear to be educationally effective for HIV prevention