Outcomes of the “STEPS” HIV prevention training program for young males in the penitentiary institution, Ukraine

• Pages: 101-108
• Date: 11 June 2018
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-02-2017-0007
• Published date: 11 June 2018
• Author: Emily Dauria,Marina Tolou-Shams,Halyna Skipalska,Mariya Bachmaha,Sara Hodgdon
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Outcomes of the “STEPS”HIV prevention

training program for young males in the

penitentiary institution, Ukraine

Emily Dauria, Marina Tolou-Shams, Halyna Skipalska, Mariya Bachmaha and Sara Hodgdon

Abstract

Purpose –Ukrainehas one of the fastest growingHIV epidemics globally.Due to their engagement in high-risk

behaviors,adolescents and emerging adultsinvolved with the penitentiary systemare at a particularly high risk

of HIV-acquisition. To address the epidemic, young males (aged 14 to 20 years) in penitentiary institutions

across Ukraineparticipated in a ten-week, group-based HIV-prevention intervention(STEPS). The paper aims

to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors analyzed clinical and programmatic services data collected

as part of an evaluation of the STEPS intervention. Paired t-tests and χ

2

were used to examine pre- and

post-intervention differences in HV knowledge, attitudes, and risk behaviors and alcohol and other drug

use knowledge.

Findings –In total, 105 male youths participated in the ten-session STEPS intervention. At baseline, males

reported high frequencies of risk behaviors (e.g. unprotected sexual activity, injection drug use), moderate

levels of HIV-related knowledge, and negative attitudes toward HIV and people living with HIV. At follow-up

(immediately following the last STEPS session), participants’HIV-related knowledge substantially improved

and participants tended to have more favorable attitudes toward HIV.

Research limitations/implications –Outcomes suggest that knowledge and attitudes about HIV among

Ukrainian incarcerated youth can improve as a result of group-based HIV-prevention intervention.

Originality/value –In Ukraine, individuals involved with the criminal justice system are one of the populations

most-at-risk for HIV; criminal justice-involved adolescents and young adults are disproportionately affected

by the HIV epidemic. Research among this sub-population is limited. This study aims to address this gap by

evaluating an on-going group-based HIV-prevention program designed to reduce adolescent risk of HIV.

Keywords Incarceration, HIV/AIDS, Ukraine, Quantitative research, Adolescents, Intervention research,

HIV prevention

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Ukraine has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2015).

The prevalence of HIV (among individuals aged 15-49 years) has increased from 0.1 in 1990 to 0.9

in 2015; representing a nearly ten-fold increase (UNAIDS, 2015b; The World Bank, 2015). In 2015,

there were 18,808 new reported cases of HIV (UNAI DS, 2015a; Elena Pinchuk Foundation, 2016).

Despite surveillance data suggesting that the epidemic was expanding to the general population

(Ministry of Health of Ukraine, 2012), recent estimates confirm that several key populations remain at

the highest risk (Cakalo et al., 2015). Individuals involved with the criminal justice system are one of

the populations most-at-risk for HIV (Avert, 2015; Kruglov et al., 2008; UNAIDS, 2014).

Among individuals involved in the criminal justice system, adolescents and emerging adults

(individuals between the ages of 14 and 24 years) areat a particularly high risk of HIV-acquisition.

Individuals in this age group are likely to engage in behaviors that increase their risk of

seroconverting(e.g. report having multiple sex partners), and have little HIV-prevention knowledge

Received 7 February 2017

Revised 23 May 2017

Accepted 22 June 2017

This research was supported by

grants from the National Institute

on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to Brown

University (T32 DA013911 and

R25 DA037190) and R01

DA034538 (PI: Tolou-Shams)

R01DA035231 (PI: Tolou-Shams).

The content is solely the

responsibility of the authors and

does not represent the official

views of these funders. The

authors would like to thank the

study participants and program

staff for their participation in the

STEPS HIV Prevention program

(implemented with Johnson &

Johnson support) and HealthRight

International for sharing their

evaluation data.

Emily Dauria is an Assistant

Professional Researcher and

Marina Tolou-Shamsis an

AssociateProfessor, both at the

Department of Psychiatry, Weill

Institute for Neurosciences,

University of California San

Francisco, San Francisco,

California, USA.

Halyna Skipalska is based at

HealthRight International, Kyiv,

Ukraine.

Mariya Bachmaha is based at

the School of Public Health,

Brown University, Providence,

Rhode Island, USA.

Sara Hodgdon is based at

HealthRight International,

New York City, New York, USA.

DOI 10.1108/IJPH-02-2017-0007 VOL. 14 NO. 2 2018, pp. 101-108, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200

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