Public Health and the Epidemic of Incarceration

An unprecedented number of Americans have been incarcerated in the past generation. In addition, arrests are concentrated in low-income, predominantly nonwhite communities where people are more likely to be medically underserved. As a result, rates of physical and mental illnesses are far higher amo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of public health 2012-04, Vol.33 (1), p.325-339
Main Authors: DUMONT, Dora M, BROCKMANN, Brad, DICKMAN, Samuel, ALEXANDER, Nicole, RICH, Josiah D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrests
Biological and medical sciences
Epidemiology
General aspects
Health care
Health Services - utilization
Health Status
Health Status Disparities
Humans
Medical sciences
Medically Underserved Area
Mental disorders
Miscellaneous
Prisoners
Prisons
Prisons - statistics & numerical data
Prisons - trends
Public Health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality of Health Care
Reviews
Socioeconomic Factors
Socioeconomics
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Summary:An unprecedented number of Americans have been incarcerated in the past generation. In addition, arrests are concentrated in low-income, predominantly nonwhite communities where people are more likely to be medically underserved. As a result, rates of physical and mental illnesses are far higher among prison and jail inmates than among the general public. We review the health profiles of the incarcerated; health care in correctional facilities; and incarceration's repercussions for public health in the communities to which inmates return upon release. The review concludes with recommendations that public health and medical practitioners capitalize on the public health opportunities provided by correctional settings to reach medically underserved communities, while simultaneously advocating for fundamental system change to reduce unnecessary incarceration.
ISSN:0163-7525
1545-2093
DOI:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031811-124614