Racial/ethnic sexual health disparities among incarcerated women

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women in U.S. corrections facilities are higher than rates in community samples. Research that combines behavioral correlates of STI with STI history by race/ethnicity has not been done in incarcerated women. The purpose of this study was to compare by race/ethnicity self-reported sexual risk behaviors with self-reported history of STI in an incarcerated sample. An interviewer administered a questionnaire to 428 incarcerated women. Blacks were more likely to report consistent condom use in the three months prior to incarceration (47% vs. 28%, p<0.05), and Hispanics were less likely to report sex work than were whites (16% vs. 39%, p<0.05). Whites were more likely than blacks to report having had an unplanned pregnancy (88% vs. 67%, p<0.05). Despite having lower self-reported risk on several measures, Blacks were more likely to report history of STI (65% vs. 40%, p<0.05). The correctional setting is an opportune place to better understand and address the complex issue of sexual health disparities.