A System-Level Intervention to Encourage Collaboration Between Juvenile Justice and Public Health Agencies to Promote HIV/STI Testing

AIDS Educ Prev. 2020 Aug;32(4):337-355. doi: 10.1521/aeap.2020.32.4.337.

Abstract

Justice-involved youth are at high risk for HIV and STIs, and justice agencies are uniquely poised to offer HIV/STI testing. However, testing in these settings is not routine and represents a missed opportunity. This study describes a system-level implementation intervention designed to increase access to HIV/STI testing through juvenile justice (JJ) and public health agency collaboration across six counties in six states in the United States. Local change teams, active facilitation, and training were utilized to facilitate agency partnerships and development of HIV/STI practice change protocols. Five counties established health and JJ partnerships and four counties successfully implemented their protocols. Sites with HIV/STI education and testing protocols behaviorally screened 98.5% of youth and tested 41.2% of those youth; 0% were HIV+ and 43.2% had an STI. The intervention provides a feasible, scalable solution, through promoting partnerships between JJ and health agencies, to link youth to testing and treatment services.

Keywords: HIV/STI testing; adolescents; implementation; juvenile justice; system-level intervention.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Criminal Law*
  • Delivery of Health Care / organization & administration*
  • HIV Infections / prevention & control*
  • HIV Testing / statistics & numerical data*
  • Health Services Accessibility*
  • Humans
  • Juvenile Delinquency*
  • Mass Screening
  • Public Health*
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Social Behavior
  • United States