NCJ Number
169927
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 77 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1997) Pages: 184-208
Date Published
1997
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Inmate health care and health issues are examined through the presentation of a conceptual model by which to explore and explain the health condition of inmates; a review of research on inmate health condition at admission, inmate use of prison medical services, and inmate health condition during incarceration; and a discussion of policy options.
Abstract
Prisons are not isolated institutions; social and economic change in the wider society affects their internal dynamics. Health conditions within lower socioeconomic segments of the population influence the health characteristics of prisoners at admission, and health conditions in the wider society have major implications of inmate health care. The analysis demonstrates that continued declines in the health status of the general population and the poor in particular, coupled with punitive sentencing policies, will strain correctional health care delivery systems. Findings indicate the need for research that links street behavior to actions in the prison and even back to the streets. In addition, Federal policies to improve the health conditions of the poor must include inmates, because improvements in inmate health will have an impact on urban society at large. Figures and 101 references (Author abstract modified)