Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care最新文献

A variety of strategies have been implemented to identify, target, and prevent suicide in correctional settings. In recent decades, some prisons have adopted policies that use other incarcerated individuals to support people who have been identified as being at high risk of suicide. There has been little research on these policies and, of the few studies that have been conducted, all have relied on data from a single facility. This study takes a national approach by exploring how many departments of corrections (DOCs) include incarcerated individuals as part of their suicide prevention strategies and the characteristics of those programs. This study is an analysis of suicide prevention policies from state DOCs and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in the United States. The BOP and 15 state DOCs have written policies pertaining to the use of incarcerated individuals as components of suicide prevention programs. These programs differ in their expectations for incarcerated individuals, with some focusing solely on observation of people in crisis and others emphasizing befriending and mentoring.

People experiencing incarceration in the United States receive much of their health care outside of custodial settings. Optimizing care in this setting requires further understanding of the training and experiences of noncustodial health care workers. We conducted a cross-sectional, exploratory survey of health care workers at a single academic institution to assess their training and experiences related to caring for this patient population. Of 333 respondents, 94.1% had cared for patients experiencing incarceration but only 22.5% had received any formal training, with 94.6% somewhat or very interested in further training. Common challenges included lack of privacy, difficulty obtaining patient history or completing an examination, and patient distress. Health care workers frequently experience challenges and report strong interest in further training to address knowledge gaps, and further detailed investigation is needed.

Previous research indicates general health benefits of sport for imprisoned individuals. Nevertheless, the role of time spent in sporting activities during imprisonment and the type of sports setting (informal vs. organized) remain unclear. The study uses a quantitative, cross-sectional design. It is based on survey data (N = 568) from the Hessian Prison Sport Study, collected in 12 prisons in Hesse, Germany. By applying regression analyses, the study examines systematic relationships between time spent in sporting activities and incarcerated people's physical, mental, and social health. It also investigates to what extent participation in informal and organized sports is correlated with various health indicators. Results show that higher levels of physical activity (≥5 hours/week) in prison are associated with all health indicators investigated. Incarcerated individuals who regularly engage in informal and organized sports report significantly better health than inactive individuals. Although informal sports yield certain health benefits, only organized sport is associated with higher social connectedness. In addition to confirming the biopsychosocial health benefits of regular sporting activity for imprisoned individuals, the findings highlight that informal and organized sports activities are both important for promoting health.

Early detection of infectious disease transmission is an important public health tool. We sought to evaluate how positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases, identified within 14 days of admission to a jail setting, are linked to local county incidence. Data were extracted from the electronic health record and publicly accessible websites. We compared positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 identified in the Santa Clara County (SCC) jail within 14 days of admission (250 cases) with positive cases reported in SCC (141,841 cases) between March 15, 2020, and October 2, 2021. There was a strong, positive correlation between cases of SARS-CoV-2 identified within 14 days of jail admission and SCC cases the following week (r = .785). Our findings show that admission SARS-CoV-2 testing data from jails may be useful for detecting disease transmission in the surrounding community.

To decrease the introduction of COVID-19, in-person visitation programs were temporarily limited at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities. After consultation with the California Department of Public Health, and in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, in-person visitation was reintroduced on April 10, 2021, with COVID-19 mitigation strategies. To assess the risk of visitation as a mode of entry for COVID-19 into a prison setting, data were gathered demonstrating the number of visitors who were not allowed into the prison due to a positive COVID-19 test prior to visitation. The number of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 after interaction with visitors was also assessed. Between April 10 and June 27, 2021, 33,212 visitors participated in the in-person visiting program. Eight visitors received positive test results prior to entry. Between January 1 and October 1, 2021, 19,025 patients received a total of 93,135 visitations. Of these, 66 patients received positive test results from post-visit testing. These data suggest that when appropriate mitigation strategies are implemented, the visitation process is not a significant contributor to COVID-19 entry into the prison facility when compared with the total number of COVID-19 cases among patients.

Between 1980 and 2019, the number of incarcerated women rose by more than 700%. Rising imprisonment of women corresponds with an increase in incarcerated lactating people. In 2018, California signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2507, requiring county jails to develop and implement a breast milk feeding policy for incarcerated women who wish to express their breast milk. We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive study to determine if California's 58 counties created policies compliant with AB2507. Additionally, policies were analyzed for inclusion of evidence-based breastfeeding and lactation management practices and given a letter grade for their performance. Public records act requests were sent to all California counties, requesting their breast milk feeding policies. Of the 55 counties that responded, 51 had policies. Twenty-eight (51%) counties were in full compliance and 27 (49%) counties lacked compliance. No counties received letter grade A and 48 (87%) counties received letter grade C or below. Results reveal a discrepancy between legally compliant policies and evidence-based practices. The California county jail management needs increased surveillance to ensure policies are in full compliance and reflect best practices. Further research is required to investigate the actual implementation of compliant written breastfeeding policies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with visual impairment among adults with a history of criminal justice involvement (CJI). This retrospective, cross-sectional study reviewed adult respondents from the 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We analyzed sociodemographic and health characteristics to determine factors associated with visual impairment among adults with and without a history of CJI. In this national, population-based study, we found similar rates of visual impairment among adults with and without CJI (5.7% vs. 4.2%, p < .001). However, adults with CJI were more likely to report visual impairment at a younger age. Among adults with CJI, visual impairment was associated with female sex, older age, Black/African American race, less education, lower income, and chronic health conditions (including diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illness, mental health symptoms, and hearing impairment). CJI in the past year (probation [adjusted odds ratio, AOR, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.53-0.93]; one arrest [AOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.14-1.89]; two or more arrests [AOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.29-2.33]) was uniquely associated with visual impairment among adults with a CJI history (p < .05 for all relationships). Research, screening, and treatment for visual impairment should include those with justice involvement to improve health equity.