Interventions to Improve HIV Care Continuum Outcomes for People With HIV Who Have Incarceration Experience: A Narrative Review

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025 May 12;12(6):ofaf284. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaf284. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Abstract

People with HIV who are reentering the community after incarceration encounter multiple barriers to engagement in HIV care and treatment. We conducted a narrative review of recent interventions (2020-2023) developed to address barriers and improve HIV-related health outcomes for people with HIV and incarceration experience in the United States. This review yielded 6 interventions published in the peer-reviewed literature and 4 interventions from the gray literature (ie, informally published interventions). Eight interventions used the strategy of providing reentry services to support engagement in HIV care and social services after release from incarceration. Of the peer-reviewed studies, only 2 reported statistically significant improvements in HIV-related outcomes. Gray literature interventions lacked the methodological details necessary to interpret findings. Systems-level and multilevel interventions were promising but need more rigorous study. To end the HIV epidemic, more innovation is needed to address barriers to care for people with HIV and incarceration experience.

Keywords: incarceration; intervention; jail; prison; viral suppression.

Publication types

  • Review