Toward Coordinated Care and Disease Control: A Study of HIV and Tuberculosis Co-Infection within the Prison System of Tajikistan (Research Brief)

My research focused on the dual epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis among the incarcerated population of Tajikistan. Working with the local office of an international NGO, my field work involved three complementary empiric approaches. First, I conducted in-depth interviews with 14 former prisoners to develop a qualitative understanding of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of inmates relating to HIV and TB prevention and treatment. Secondly, in coordination with this NGO and the local prison health administration, I helped conduct a survey of the prevalence and risk factors for HIV/TB co-infection in two prison facilities in Sughd province, Tajikistan. Finally, I collected primary data about the costs of conducting various screening tests for TB to be used in a cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative strategies for screening inmates in prisons with high prevalence of multi-drug resistant TB.

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Daniel Winetsky, of Stanford University, was a 2009-10 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow.