Comparison of HIV indicators after implementation of a new model for TB and HIV management in an Iranian prison

OBJECTIVES: A new national clinical guideline for management of tuberculosis and HIV in Iranian prisons was released in 2011. The aim of this study was to compare HIV indicators in the case and control prisons after implementation of the new guideline. METHODS: This report examines outcomes seen during the pilot phase of its implementation at a case prison from October 2013 to June 2014 compared to a control prison that had not yet implemented the guideline. The case prison included incarcerated individuals in the Great Tehran Prison. A prison in Alborz province was considered as a control group. Pearson's Chi-squared, two sample t-test, paired t-test and Kruskal-Wallis were used for the analysis. RESULTS: The intervention significantly increased the total number of inmates tested for HIV and of diagnoses of HIV-positive inmates in the case prison compared to the control prison (Pl0.001). Moreover, coverage of antiretroviral therapy was higher in the case prison compared to the control prison (P=0.015). CONCLUSIONS: We recommend implementation of this guideline in all Iranian prisons.