Unmet Mental Health and Social Service Needs of Formerly Incarcerated Women Living with HIV in the Deep South

What is it about?

Previously incarcerated women have particular mental, physical and social service needs that are typically overlooked in research studies and interventions, particularly for women in the poorer Southern US.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Although jails and prisons can be important sites for HIV health care delivery, women living with HIV (WLWH) lose access to such services when released. This situation has contributed to the unique challenges WLWH face when released. There has been a call for gender-responsive interventions to address women’s specific postrelease needs in community settings that are viewed as critical to interrupt the cycle of incarceration, support long-term postrelease adjustment, and reduce health disparities (Harner & Burgess, 2011). Few studies have investigated the gender experiences of previously incarcerated WLWH as seekers and users of health care and social services in the postrelease period, however (Stanton et al., 2016). Additionally, the resources available and institutional barriers to care are highly context-specific: individual-group characteristics interact with social-environmental factors to shape the postrelease experience (Berg & Cobbina, 2017). Incarcerated Black WLWH in the U.S. South are an understudied population for whom poverty, reduced health care access, and the absence of support services negatively impact postrelease adjustment. Thus research like this study, is critical to inform the evidence base of research and interventions focused on this population.

Perspectives