The health and health care of US prisoners: Results of a nationwide survey

A.P. Wilper, S. Woolhandler, J.W. Boyd, K.E. Lasser, D. McCormick, D.H. Bor and D.U. Himmelstein

American Journal of Public Health, 2009, vol. 99, issue 4, 666-672

Abstract: Objectives. We analyzed the prevalence of chronic illnesses, including mental illness, and access to health care among US inmates. Methods. We used the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities to analyze disease prevalence and clinical measures of access to health care for inmates. Results. Among inmates in federal prisons, state prisons, and local jails, 38.5% (SE=2.2%), 42.8% (SE=1.1%), and 38.7% (SE=0.7%), respectively, suffered a chronic medical condition. Among inmates with a mental condition ever treated with a psychiatric medication, only 25.5% (SE=7.5%) of federal, 29.6% (SE=2.8%) of state, and 38.5% (SE=1.5%) of local jail inmates were taking a psychiatric medication at the time of arrest, whereas 69.1% (SE=4.8%), 68.6% (SE=1.9%), and 45.5% (SE=1.6%) were on a psychiatric medication after admission. Conclusions. Many inmates with a serious chronic physical illness fail to receive care while incarcerated. Among inmates with mental illness, most were off their treatments at the time of arrest. Improvements are needed both in correctional health care and in community mental health services that might prevent crime and incarceration.

Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2008.144279

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2008.144279_1

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.144279

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().