Além dos muros: uma análise do conhecimento de internos em um complexo penitenciário sobre infecções sexualmente transmissíveis

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are diseases transmitted mainly through unprotected sexual contact. Populations such as people deprived of liberty (PDL) are more vulnerable to these diseases due to individual and structural issues that affect them. The condition of PDL fosters greater risks for exposure to STIs, with low education being one of the factors that affects most of this group and increases vulnerability. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between the level of knowledge of inmates in a penitentiary complex in Sergipe about STIs and their exposure to them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an observational, analytical and cross-sectional study, carried out in a male penitentiary complex in Sergipe. Rapid tests for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C were performed, and a questionnaire with 70 objective questions was applied to inmates who agreed to participate in the study and signed the TCLE. The database was developed using Microsoft Office Excel 2013 software and the statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 27.0. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Only 28.2% of the inmates had a higher level of knowledge about STIs, and low education, low income and precarious housing conditions were variables associated with lower knowledge. Inmates with risky practices, such as tattoos in prisons, showed a higher prevalence of lower knowledge. CONCLUSION: The data analyzed in the study reinforced the need for continuous educational strategies, screening and preventive actions to minimize risks in the prison environment. These interventions are essential to strengthen public policies and reduce the dissemination of STIs within and outside the prison walls.