Routine screening in youth prisons could reduce STIs in the community
8 January 2010
New research funded by the Medical Research Council suggests the introduction of routine screening programmes for sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Young Offenders’ Institutions could reduce the prevalence of STIs in the community, in the medium and longer-term.
MRC scientists interviewed 40 young offenders for the Scottish study, to better understand their STI testing behaviour and attitudes. Of the 24 young offenders who had been tested, most (16) were tested within the Young Offenders Institute (YOI) where the screening was convenient and readily available.
Dr Katie Buston from the Medical Research Council said:
“Most prisoners come from the poorest and most socially excluded sections of society. Targeting male young offenders whilst they are inside may provide a rare opportunity to intervene in the lives of vulnerable young men. Most of those interviewed reported having had more than five sexual partners, with unprotected sex commonplace, yet only a handful of the men had undergone regular testing.
“A standard opt-out screening programme would enable the diagnosis and treatment of STIs amongst this group, as well as serving as an opportunity for sexual health promotion and perhaps contact tracing. This could reduce the prevalence of STIs in the community, in the medium and longer-term, as many of those in Young Offenders Institutions will be released back into society in a matter of months rather than years.”
STIs are a major public health problem in the UK. STI rates have risen amongst young people (aged 16-24 years) over the last decade and although young people represent only 12 per cent of the population, they account for nearly half of STI diagnoses within genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics. The particularly high rates of sexual partner change amongst young men who go on to become imprisoned in Young Offenders Institutions makes them especially vulnerable to STIs. The National Chlamydia Screening Programme, which screens men and women under 25 years, found that the highest prevalence of Chlamydia is within prison, at 14 per cent.
The study was carried out by scientists at the MRC’s Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow and published on 8 January 2010 in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (JFPRHC).
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
2. Buston K, Wight D. Self-reported sexually transmitted infection testing behaviour amongst incarcerated young male offenders: findings from a qualitative study. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care 2010:36(1): 7-11
Press contact: Kerry Teakle, 020 7670 5302 / 07801 103528
kerry.teakle@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
