AIDS is found in every race and social strata but when found in prison, it is possible to track more easily than in any other group. Find out who the victims of this disease are and how they got it. Do not make assumptions based on lifestyle and remember that even babies can get AIDS. Look for correlations between people, racial groups, age, and sex to get an idea of what is happening with AIDS in prison right now. It may be easier to contact one prison instead of trying to study prisons nationwide, and you will be more likely to have direct contact with the victims, which will allow you to learn more and gain a more in-depth perspective on the disease.
People tend to make assumptions when they learn someone has AIDS, which may or may not be accurate. Learning how people can get AIDS -- at birth, through a blood transfusion, sex with their spouse, as well as anal sex or through sharing drug needles -- can help to educate people about AIDS and also help them make better choices to protect themselves. Whether you plan to use your project to teach people in jail about risk factors or to show those out of jail the dangers faced by those in jail, the research data you collect will be very important for making your point.
While you can easily collect information for a written report, a better option may be to create a public service project. Using the history of the infected people you met in jail may help you identify risk factors (child abuse, homelessness, prostitution, drug use) with which you may be able to provide intervention. For example, giving condoms to those who are homeless or prostitutes may help a few avoid AIDS, while participating in a needle exchange program will help drug addicts.
You can also use the information you have gathered to help you potentially identify those with AIDS and get them treatment or teach them how not to infect others. For example, if you see a pregnant prostitute with blue-purple blisters, it may be helpful to explain how AIDS can be transmitted during childbirth. You could also set up an educational program within the jail to both help those with AIDS and teach those without AIDS how to avoid it.
People on the streets aren't the only ones who need to learn about AIDS. One rapidly growing segment of AIDS victims are young people who have unprotected sex. Use the information you have gathered in the jail to create a presentation for students to teach them about their own risk factors --unprotected sex of all kinds, drug use -- and how to make safer decisions. Give them accurate facts about AIDS since many people believe that only gay men can get it only through anal sex. This type of inaccurate information puts everyone at risk. Relate some of the prisoners' personal stories of how they got AIDS to illustrate the point that anyone can get it.