[Factors related to refuse antiretroviral therapy in prison].

Introduction: Despite the benefits of highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on morbidity and mortality, some seropositive patients refuse to accept this treatment. Prisons provide easier access to this population.

Objective: To determine the psychosocial characteristics of prisoners who refuse HAART.

Adherence to antiretroviral treatment in prisons.

The effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs is closely linked to the degree of adherence. The prison environment has specific characteristics that may affect adherence in HIV-positive patients, so that it may not be possible to extrapolate factors associated with nonadherence in HIV+ patients outside prison. The objective was to analyze the prevalence of nonadherence to antiretroviral treatment in three Spanish prisons, and to examine the relation between a large group of factors and nonadherence to the medication.