Global Prison Health Care Governance and Health Equity: A Critical Lack of Evidence.

Journal: American journal of public health

Volume: 110

Issue: 3

Year of Publication: 2020

Affiliated Institutions:  Katherine E. McLeod and Ruth Elwood Martin are with the School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Amanda Butler is with the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Jesse T. Young, Louise Southalan, Rohan Borschmann, and Stuart A. Kinner are with the Justice Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Sunita Sturup-Toft is with Public Health England, London, UK Anja Dirkzwager is with the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Kate Dolan is with the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lawrence Kofi Acheampong is with the Ghana Prisons Service, Nsawam, Ghana. Stephanie M. Topp is with the College of Public Health Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract summary 

The large and growing population of people who experience incarceration makes prison health an essential component of public health and a critical setting for reducing health inequities. People who experience incarceration have a high burden of physical and mental health care needs and have poor health outcomes. Addressing these health disparities requires effective governance and accountability for prison health care services, including delivery of quality care in custody and effective integration with community health services.Despite the importance of prison health care governance, little is known about how prison health services are structured and funded or the methods and processes by which they are held accountable. A number of national and subnational jurisdictions have moved prison health care services under their ministry of health, in alignment with recommendations by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. However, there is a critical lack of evidence on current governance models and an urgent need for evaluation and research, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.Here we discuss why understanding and implementing effective prison health governance models is a critical component of addressing health inequities at the global level.

Authors & Co-authors:  McLeod Katherine E KE Butler Amanda A Young Jesse T JT Southalan Louise L Borschmann Rohan R Sturup-Toft Sunita S Dirkzwager Anja A Dolan Kate K Acheampong Lawrence Kofi LK Topp Stephanie M SM Martin Ruth Elwood RE Kinner Stuart A SA

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  Walmsley R. World Prison Population List. 12th ed. London, England: Institute for Criminal Policy Research, University of London; 2018.
Authors :  12
Identifiers
Doi : 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305465
SSN : 1541-0048
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Health Equity
Other Terms
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
United States