1. Upstream Factors/Downstream Consequences
1.1. Since the 1980s there has been a 500% increase incarceration rate. This started with trying to handle the War on Drugs in the 80s. The War on Drugs created a huge impact on why and who are arrested today. Today, more people are behind bars for non-violent drug offenses.
1.1.1. Through county levels studies they have found a strong correlation between incarceration rates and rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, teenage pregnancies, and other sexually transmitted infections.
1.1.2. From 1991 to 2002, European and central Asian countries found high incarceration rates lead to an increase in tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.
1.2. The rise in incarceration doesn't just affect the individual who is facing jail time. Their family: parents, children, and spouses are all negatively affected by this.
1.2.1. Incarceration can affect a family's access to health care and health insurance. Leading a lot of families to be left without health insurance.
1.2.2. More than half of prisoners have a child before they are 18 years old. Family members of someone who is incarcerated are more likely to go to prison.
1.2.3. Children with incarcerate parents may experience negative health outcomes including ADHD, developmental delays, speech or language problems, and behavioral or conduct problems.
1.2.4. About 45% of prisoners children
1.3. Communities also take a hit when there is a rise of incarceration.
1.3.1. Research from the SSM- Population Health, has shown incarceration becomes criminogenic in communities. Which then increases the likelihood of victimization and associated stressors in those high-incarceration communities.
1.4. Long-term health diminishes. Former or current inmates are more likely to have chronic and infectious diseases. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, with data collected from 1979-2000, found mental health is another factor negatively affected when connected to an inmate.
2. Important Policies
2.1. Like the outside world, people in prison have to pay co-pays to receive medical care. Co-pays are responsible for covering part of the doctor or health care cost. This fee can deter individuals from going to the doctor too often, but it can also prevent individuals from getting the care they need.
2.1.1. In Virginia, the minimum incarceration wage is $0.27 per hour. The average co-pay for incarcerated individuals is $5.00, so an individual will have needed to work 18 hours before receiving care.
2.1.2. Without individuals seeking medical treatment, they are more likely to spread diseases or illnesses.
2.2. Incarcerated individuals are able to apply for Medicaid while in prison, but will not be able to receive Medicaid until out. Being able to apply allows individuals to gain quicker access to health care when they get out.
3. Recommendations to reduce or eliminate negative health outcomes
3.1. Avoid bodily fluid or blood contamination to prevent diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
3.2. Quit smoking and drinking. Both of these bad habits can lead to a greater risk of developing stress or an infectious disease. Smoking and drinking can also lead to inappropriate behavior which could potentially develop into jail time.
3.3. Providing access to mental health treatments and help for disorders like substance abuse. This may be done through further training of prison workers. Even having a health care professional work with the inmates to help them with their mental health.
4. Overview
4.1. Incarceration is a global problem among many populations. A life course stress process prospective links pathways through adulthood incarceration and indicators of adulthood adversity, low income, and supportive resources. Indirect and direct paths of ACEs through nearly all theorized mediators, and indirect pathways of household incarceration, through incarceration and low income, to adulthood mental health impairment and substance use. Different background information such as parental status, education, income, and living location are all factors that directly relate to an individual’s likelihood of being incarcerated.
5. Prevalence
5.1. Gender
5.1.1. In 2017, the incarceration rate for men was 13 times more than women.
5.1.1.1. The Sentencing Project, "the lifetime likelihood of imprisonment for U.S. residents born in 2001", for men will be 1 in 9 and for women will be 1 in 56.
5.2. Age
5.2.1. Young under-educated individuals.
5.2.1.1. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, inmates currently ages 36-40 make up the largest population in prisons; with about 27,854. Making up about 18% of the data they collected.
5.3. Race/Ethnicity
5.3.1. The African American population are most likely within the poverty line and have a lower level of education. Not only do they have a greater chance of being incarcerated because of their SES and race, the life altering affects which are hard to bounce back from in the society we live in.
5.3.1.1. In the US, people of color make up 37% of the population and yet 67% of the prison population.
5.3.1.2. The Sentencing Project's chart projects: 1 in 3 Black men and 1 in 6 Latino men will face imprisonment.
5.3.1.2.1. 1 in 18 Black women and 1 in 45 Latino women will face imprisonment.
5.3.1.2.2. Minority males are five-eight times as likely to being sentences to prison than educated white men.
5.4. Locality
5.4.1. Areas with less access to mental health resources have higher rates of incarceration.
5.4.1.1. In 2015, The Sentencing Project ranked states based on the number of people incarcerated in state prison per 100,000 residents. The results showed that 6 out of the 10 states with the least access to mental health care also have the highest rates of incarceration.
5.4.2. Areas of low income and lower development
5.5. Social standing
5.5.1. The Whitehall studies indicates that individuals of higher ranking in jobs have a higher level of control over their life. Individuals of lower standing have less control and are more vulnerable to the prison system.
6. New References
6.1. “Access to Mental Health Care and Incarceration.” Mental Health America, Mental Health America, Inc. , 2020, www.mhanational.org/issues/access-mental-health-care-and-incarceration.
6.1.1. "Inmate Age." BOP Statistics: Average Inmate Age, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 5 Dec. 2020, BOP Statistics: Average Inmate Age https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_age.jsp
6.2. Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2020, December 5). "Inmate Age". BOP Statistics: Average Inmate Age
6.2.1. World Health Organization. "Mental Health and Prisons". https://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/mh_in_prison.pdf