Locked up While Locked Down: Prisoners’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Suhomlinova, Olga; Ayres, Tammy; Tonkin, Matthew; O’Reilly, Michelle; Wertans, Emily; O’Shea, Saoirse Caitlin

doi:10.1093/bjc/azab060

Cited by 49 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Many residents also cited restrictions on court attendance; as our CAB pointed out, these restrictions hindered participatory defense, a community organizing model developed locally that engages family and community members in shaping a loved one's case ( 62 ). In addition to case-related stressors, we identified prevalent worsened mental health among residents that was attributed not only to fear of COVID-19 and unsanitary conditions but also to restrictive pandemic policies, corroborating prior qualitative work ( 45 , 63 – 65 ). These mental health harms have likely only intensified with prolonged restrictions: all four jails suspended in-person visitation for over 10 months, and some continue to restrict recreation time and in-person programming over 2 years into the pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Northern California Jails: Perceived Deficiencies, Barriers, and Unintended Harms

Liu

LeBoa

Rodriguez

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundCarceral facilities are high-risk settings for COVID-19 transmission. Little is known about the hidden burden of infection or practical barriers to infection control in these settings, especially in jails. There is also limited research on the mental health impacts of the pandemic among people living and working in carceral facilities.MethodsBetween July 8, 2020 and April 30, 2021, we performed SARS-CoV-2 rapid antibody testing and administered a questionnaire among residents and staff of four Northern California jails. We utilized multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for demographic and carceral characteristics, to analyze factors associated with prior infection, including perceived likelihood of prior infection and access to new masks. We additionally assessed the implementation of, perceptions toward, and impacts of COVID-19 policies in practice. We engaged stakeholder representatives, including incarcerated individuals, to guide study design, procedures, and results interpretation.ResultsWe enrolled 788 jail residents and 380 jail staff. Nearly half of residents and two-thirds of staff who were antibody-positive had not previously tested positive for COVID-19. Among residents without a prior COVID-19 diagnosis, antibody positivity was significantly associated with perceived likelihood of prior infection (adjusted OR = 8.9; 95% CI, 3.6–22.0). Residents who had flu-like illness in jail cited inadequate responses to reported illness and deterrents to symptom reporting, including fears of medical isolation and perceptions of medical neglect. Residents also disclosed deficient access to face masks, which was associated with antibody positivity (adjusted OR = 13.8, 95% CI, 1.8–107.0). Worsened mental health was pervasive among residents, attributed not only to fear of COVID-19 and unsanitary jail conditions but also to intensified isolation and deprivation due to pandemic restrictions on in-person visitation, programs, and recreation time.ConclusionCarceral settings present significant challenges to maintaining infection control and human rights. Custody officials should work diligently to transform the conditions of medical isolation, which could mitigate deterrents to symptom reporting. Furthermore, they should minimize use of restrictive measures like lockdowns and suspension of visitation that exacerbate the mental health harms of incarceration. Instead, custody officials should ensure comprehensive implementation of other preventive strategies like masking, testing, and vaccination, in conjunction with multisector efforts to advance decarceration.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Northern California Jails: Perceived Deficiencies, Barriers, and Unintended Harms

Liu

LeBoa

Rodriguez

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…in transmission and containment. There is relatively little insight into the lived experience of prisoners or prison staff into Covid-19 within prison settings, and a wider lack of qualitative studies undertaken within prison settings (with the notable exceptions of the Scotland in Lockdown study; https://scotlandinlockdown.co.uk/, the Prison Reform Trust CAPPTTIVE project and a small number of emerging and illuminating qualitative studies, including: Gray et al (2021) and Suhomlinova et al (2021)). Despite the emerging literature above, there are very few, if no studies, involving face-to-face research with people in custody with a very limited number of studies being administered via correspondence to better understand their experiences of the pandemic, their insights into the pandemic and what social distancing is like within prison.…”

Section: Covid-19 In Prison Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I Do Not Appear to Have had Previous Letters’. The Potential and Pitfalls of Using a Qualitative Correspondence Method to Facilitate Insights Into Life in Prison During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Maycock

2021

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown represents a significant challenge for qualitative researchers due to social distancing measures restricting face-to-face data collection. At the time of ethical approval (early April 2020), all face-to-face research projects facilitated by the Scottish Prison Service and most prison jurisdictions were paused. In response to these methodological challenges, a participatory action correspondence methodology was designed in order for people in custody to influence the direction of this project by suggesting research questions and themes. This article analyses the potential of this approach, what this illuminated and critically engages with the challenges of implementing this qualitative methodology. Eight participants were selected due to previous participation in a Participatory Action Research project at one Scottish prison. After consent was given via post, eight letters were sent to the participants. This paper analyses the questions relating to, and aspects of Covid-19 that were important to the participants, in the hope that these insights will influence other qualitative research on the impacts of Covid-19 within prison settings. Methodologically and theoretically, this paper illustrates the potential and challenges relating to using a qualitative correspondence method to facilitate unique insights into life in custody during what emerges as a particularly challenging time in prison settings. More widely the paper reiterates and restates the importance of qualitative research methods as methods that provide unique and rich insights into the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“…This may in turn impact people living in prison through reduced time outside cells, meaning less access to activities that might ameliorate their anxiety, fear, and aggression. 21,22 It may also impact the health and wellbeing of the remaining staff who are working.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 vaccine for people who live and work in prisons worldwide: A scoping review

Ismail

Tavoschi

Moazen

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Overcrowding, poor conditions, and high population turnover make prisons highly susceptible to COVID-19. Vaccination is key to controlling COVID-19, yet there is disagreement regarding whether people who live and work in prisons should be prioritised in national vaccination programmes. To help resolve this, we critically examine the extent, nature, and quality of extant literature regarding prioritisation of COVID-19 vaccinations for people who live and work in prisons. Using a scoping review as our methodological framework, we conducted a systematic literature search of 17 databases. From 2,307 potentially eligible articles, we removed duplicates and screened titles and abstracts to retain 45 articles for review and quality appraisal. Findings indicated that while most countries recognise that prisons are at risk of high levels of COVID-19 transmission, only a minority have explicitly prioritised people who live and work in prisons for COVID-19 vaccination. Even among those that have, prioritisation criteria varies considerably. This is set against a backdrop of political barriers, such as politicians questioning the moral deservingness of people in prison; policy barriers, such as the absence of a unified international framework of how vaccine prioritisation should proceed in prisons; logistical barriers regarding vaccine administration in prisons; and behavioural barriers including vaccine hesitancy. We outline five strategies to prioritise people who live and work in prisons in COVID-19 vaccination plans: (1) improving data collection on COVID-19 vaccination, (2) reducing the number of people imprisoned, (3) tackling vaccine populism through advocacy, (4) challenging arbitrary prioritisation processes via legal processes, and (5) conducting more empirical research on COVID-19 vaccination planning, delivery, and acceptability. Implementing these strategies would help to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the prison population, prevent community transmission, improve vaccine uptake in prisons beyond the current pandemic, foster political accountability, and inform future decision-making.

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Locked up While Locked Down: Prisoners’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 49 publications

References 48 publications

COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Northern California Jails: Perceived Deficiencies, Barriers, and Unintended Harms

COVID-19 Preventive Measures in Northern California Jails: Perceived Deficiencies, Barriers, and Unintended Harms

‘I Do Not Appear to Have had Previous Letters’. The Potential and Pitfalls of Using a Qualitative Correspondence Method to Facilitate Insights Into Life in Prison During the Covid-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 vaccine for people who live and work in prisons worldwide: A scoping review

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