NCJ Number
196601
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 82 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 295-313
Editor(s)
Rosemary L. Gido
Date Published
September 2002
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This research project focuses on factors that predict prisoner illness and their need for health services, with the goal of offering a simple, cost-effective approach for estimating future prisoner illness and demand for health services.
Abstract
This cross-sectional study examined the predictors of prisoner illness, and the use of physical health services and mental health services among 661 incarcerated males with a drug abuse history, in order to plan more efficiently for health care costs during incarceration. Treatment and non-treatment participants were drawn from facilities at approximately 3 months prior to their scheduled appearances before the parole board, between January 1998 and October 1999, and compared with each other. A multiple regression equation was modeled for each of the dependant variables using stepwise inclusion of predictor variables in order of the strength of their partial correlations at each step. Tables show descriptive information on potential predictor variables, descriptive information on in-prison illness variables and three dependent variables of prediction models, Pearson correlations between potential predictors and three dependent variables, summary of stepwise, multiple regression model predicting in-prison illness, and summary of stepwise multiple regression model predicting in-prison health services use for physical illness in participants experiencing first incarceration. The outcomes were found to be significantly affected by a number of demographic, past illness, past health services use, and drug abuse history factors, all of which can be ascertained at prison intake. Tables, references