Homeless Shelters’ Policies on Sex Offenders: Is This Another Collateral Consequence?

The primary focus of sex offender research has been on the efficacy and collateral consequences of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) and residence restrictions. Past scholarship has found these laws to cause numerous re-entry barriers for sex offenders. Such barriers have affected sex offenders’ ability to find and maintain housing, employment, and social support. Moreover, registered sex offenders (RSOs) have become homeless due to such laws. 

Although previous scholarship has highlighted the collateral consequences of SORN, there is a lack of scholarship addressing homeless sex offenders. Specifically, the current study assesses policies regarding RSO access to homeless shelters in a four-state region, focusing on the effect of structural, procedural, and geographic factors, as well as a shelter’s proximity to children. 

Drawing on the loose coupling organizational framework, the findings suggest that a small maximum occupancy, unwritten policies for RSOs, being in Kentucky or Tennessee, being located near a school, and being near a higher proportion of homes with children all decrease the odds that a homeless shelter allows RSOs. Furthermore, although unwilling to make exceptions to the policies regarding RSOs, shelters were generally willing to make exceptions to other policies governing shelter accessibility.

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By:  Shawn M. Rolfe1⇑, Richard Tewksbury1, Ryan D. Schroeder1

¹University of Louisville, KY, USA

Shawn M. Rolfe, University of Louisville, Brigman Hall, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. Email: shawn.rolfe@louisville.edu

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LGBT Health & Vaccinations: Findings from a Community Health Survey of Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky

Data on adult immunization coverage at the state level and for LGBT Americans in particular are sparse. 

This study reports the results of a 2012 Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, community health assessment's results asking about eight adult vaccinations among 218 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) respondents. Researchers collected data using an online survey distributed through LGBT social media, posters, and LGBT print media. The LGBT sample largely matches the demographics of the county as a whole except this group reports higher level of education and fewer uninsured individuals. 

Among LGBT respondents, immunization prevalence reaches 68.0% (annual Influenza), 65.7% (Hepatitis B), 58.8% (Chickenpox/Varicella), 55.9% (Hepatitis A), 41.2% (Smallpox), and 25.8% (Pneumonia). Among respondents who are currently within the recommended 19-26 years age range for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, the LGBT females are less likely to report receiving the vaccine (15.4%) compared to the national coverage percentage of 34.5%. Males, however, are more likely to have received the vaccine (10.3%) than the national percentage of 2.3%. 

The small number of LGBT seniors in the study report a much higher prevalence of the Shingles (Herpes Zoster) vaccines than for U.S. seniors 60 and older (71.4% compared to 20.1% nationally). LGBT respondents report higher percentages of adult vaccination.

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By:  Jones J1, Poole A2, Lasley-Bibbs V3, Johnson M4.

• 1Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, PO Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA. Electronic address: jajones@georgiasouthern.edu.
• 2Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, PO Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA.
• 3Office of Health Equity Kentucky Dept. for Public Health, 275 E. Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40621-0001, USA. Electronic address: vivian.lasley-bibbs@ky.gov.
• 4Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, PO Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA; Office of Health Equity Kentucky Dept. for Public Health, 275 E. Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40621-0001, USA.
• Vaccine. 2016 Feb 27. pii: S0264-410X(16)00235-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.02.054 

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US States with the Highest Rates of Gun Ownership

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Correlates to Seroprevalent Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 among Rural Appalachian Drug Users

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is the most common cause of genital ulcer disease and, along with substance abuse, an important HIV risk factor. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine HSV-2 seroprevalence in a sample of drug users in rural Appalachia. 

Rural Appalachian individuals age 18 or older reporting non-medical use of prescription opioids, heroin, crack/cocaine, or methamphetamine in the past 6 months (n = 499) were included. Behavioral, demographic, and sexual network data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. 

Participants' serum was tested for HSV-2 antibodies using the Biokit rapid test (Lexington, MA). The estimated population seroprevalence of HSV-2 was 14.4% (95%CI: 9.6-19.4%). Only 8.8% were aware of being HSV-2+, and unprotected sex was reported in 80% of serodiscordant sexual relationships. 

In a multivariate model, female gender, age, older age at first oral sex, and frequency of unprotected sex in the sexual network were independently associated with HSV-2 seropositivity. Despite lower seroprevalence than that reported in similar studies of substance abusers, targeted interventions to reduce sexual risk behavior are warranted in this underserved population. 

Network-informed approaches with particular focus on women, older individuals, and those engaging in frequent unprotected sex are recommended.

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By:  Stephens DB1,2, Young AM2,3, Mullins UL2, Havens JR1,2.

• 1Department of Behavioral Science (https://behavioralscience.med.uky.edu/), University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky.
• 2Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky.
• 3Department of Epidemiology, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Lexington, Kentucky. 
• J Med Virol. 2016 Mar;88(3):512-20. doi: 10.1002/jmv.24358. Epub 2015 Aug 27.

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Incarcerated Women’s Relationship-based Strategies to Avoid Drug Use After Community Re-Entry

While recent research has stressed the supportive role that family and friends play for incarcerated persons as they re-enter the community, drug-using incarcerated women re-entering the community often have to rely on family, community, and intimate relationships that have played a role in their substance abuse and criminalization. 

This study conducted qualitative analysis of clinical sessions with rural, drug-using women (N = 20) in a larger prison-based HIV risk reduction intervention in Kentucky during 2012-2014 to examine incarcerated women’s perceptions of the role of their family, community, and intimate relationships in their plans to decrease their substance abuse upon community re-entry. 

Women stressed the obstacles to receiving support in many of their family and drug-using relationships after community re-entry. Nonetheless, they asserted that changes in their relationships could support their desires to end their substance abuse by setting limits on and using their positive relationships, particularly with their children, to motivate them to change. Interventions to promote incarcerated women’s health behavior changes—including substance abuse—must acknowledge the complex social environments in which they live.

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By:  Claire Snell-Rood PhD^a*, Michele Staton-Tindall PhD, MSW^b &Grant Victor MSW^b

• ^a University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Department of Behavioral Science, 108 Medical Behavioral Science Building, Lexington, KY 40536-0086
• ^b University of Kentucky College of Social Work, 619 Patterson Office Tower, Lexington, Kentucky, 40506-0027 

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The Incarceration Rate for US Women Is Higher Than Anywhere Else

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