Incarceration as a Fundamental Social Cause of Health Inequalities: Jails, Prisons and Vulnerability to COVID-19

Flattening the Curve for Incarcerated Populations—Covid-19 in Jails and Prisons

Meghan A Novisky, Kathryn M Nowotny, Dylan B Jackson, Alexander Testa and Michael G Vaughn

The British Journal of Criminology, 2021, vol. 61, issue 6, 1630-1646

Abstract: Although research has established the disproportionate health burdens among incarcerated persons, the literature has yet to identify a theoretical framework for outlining the harms of incarceration associated with pandemics. We advance the literature theoretically by arguing two points. First, we assert that incarceration is a potent structural driver of health inequalities that must be considered as a fundamental social cause of disease. To underscore this point, we review how incarceration meets each of the four fundamental social cause criteria originally proposed by Link and Phelan. Second, given that incarceration is a fundamental social cause of disease, both currently and formerly incarcerated populations are likely to face heightened vulnerabilities to pandemics, including COVID-19, further exacerbating health disparities among incarceration-exposed groups.

Keywords: incarceration; health; infectious disease; COVID-19; fundamental causes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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