Reaching Seriously At-Risk Populations: Health Interventions in Criminal Justice Settings

Abstract

More than 6 million people are under some form of criminal justice supervision in the United States on any given day. The vast majority are arrested in and return to urban, low-income communities. These are men, women, and adolescents with high rates of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB), as well as substance abuse and other health problems. A review of recent literature indicates that an increasing problem for these populations is that they have had little prior access to primary health care or health interventions, and many are returning to their communities without critical preventive health information and skills, appropriate medical services, and other necessary support. Periods of incarceration and other criminal justice supervision offer important opportunities to provide a range of health interventions to this underserved population, and general evaluations show the potential for this strategy. Public health and criminal justice agencies have the expertise and should collaborate to provide interventions needed by incarcerated populations. Moreover, many recently released inmates require primary care for HIV/AIDS, other STDs, and TB. Consequently, timely discharge planning is essential, as are linkages with community-based organizations and agencies that can provide medical care, health education, and necessary supportive services.

Examining the Temporal Relationship Between Criminal Justice Involvement and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Drug-Involved Men

“…These findings reinforce the notion that men involved in the criminal justice system remain a critical audience for tailored HIV/STI prevention interventions. 42,47,48 This study's findings underscore the importance of HIV/STI prevention research among individuals with low-intensity criminal justice involvement. While there is limited HIV prevention research being conducted in prison settings, 4,49 HIV/STI prevention models targeting short-term jail inmates are virtually nonexistent.…”

Directly Observed versus Self-administered Antiretroviral Therapies: Preference of HIV-Positive Jailed Inmates in San Francisco

“…2,8,9,47 Due to the increased duration of incarceration, it is necessary to offer adequate therapies for acute and chronic diseases. While increased efforts are being made to facilitate discharge planning, continuation of medical care after release continues to be challenging.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] In jails, HIV-infected individuals pose a significant dilemma to the health care system and are often persons from the local community whose access to medical care has been inconsistent or absent. They may be incarcerated for weeks to months and have high rates of illicit substance or alcohol addiction.…”

“…They may be incarcerated for weeks to months and have high rates of illicit substance or alcohol addiction. 1,2,7 Due to chronic infections and the effect of incarceration on health status, 2,5,[8][9][10][11][12] they are a target population for whom availability of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and general medical care is essential. Introduction and continuation of ARV therapy can be offered while a person is incarcerated, but there are many concerns regarding optimal methods to deliver care in order to maximize personal and public health benefits.…”

Substance abuse treatment entry, retention, and outcome in women: A review of the literature

“…Lower educational attainment can lead to less-frequent employment (Green et al, 2002;Hser et al, 2003;Loneck et al, 1997;Wechsberg et al, 1998;Wong et al, 2002) and other economic barriers experienced by women enrolled in entitlement programs (Hammett et al, 1998;Klein and Zahnd, 1997;Montoya and Atkinson, 2002;Rosen et al, 2004).…”