Ongoing Research

HIV and Incarceration in Illinois Prisons
The Institute was mandated by the Illinois General Assembly under the African American HIV/AIDS Response Act, P.L. 94-0629 of 2005, to explore the plausible link between incarceration and HIV infection. To meet the legislative mandate, a three-phase research plan was developed by the Institute as follows:
* Phase I - a cross sectional study to determine the prevalence of high-risk HIV transmission behaviors in Illinois prisons. See Excutive Summary
* Phase II - focus group research technique to determine if there is a prison sub-culture, and the role of this sub-culture in the transmission of HIV
* Phase III – prospective study of HIV risk behavior and HIV serostatus of a cohort of inmates in Illinois prisons from the point-of-entry to the prison, at pre-discharge, 6 months and one year post release to the community.

Knowledge, Attitude and Beliefs of College Students Pertaining to HIV Prevention

CSU Students Study
The HIV/AIDS Research and Policy Institute at CSU recently concluded a cross-sectional study of CSU students to determine the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of college students regarding HIV prevention. See Student Study Group Survey.

Focus Group of City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) Students
Dr. Esther Jenkins of the department of psychology under a mini grant from the Institute conducted a series of focus groups with female African American students at two campuses of the City Colleges of Chicago. See Focus Group Summary.