{"title":"Dying for a change: a systematic review of compassionate release policies.","authors":"Shivani Kaushik, Jen Currin-McCulloch","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-11-2021-0110","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-11-2021-0110","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of this study was to systematically review literature to investigate trends in compassionate release policies, facility implementation, barriers at both the incarcerated individual and institutional levels, as well as gaps in the literature. The absence of uniform and appropriate policies to address suitable interventions at the end-of-life has aggravated the challenges and issues facing health-care systems within a correctional facility. A response to address and alleviate these barriers is policies related to compassionate release, a complex route that grants eligible inmates the opportunity to die in their community. Despite the existence of compassionate release policies, only 4% of requests to the Federal Bureau of Prisons are granted, with evidence demonstrating similarly low rates among numerous state prison systems, signifying the underuse of these procedures as a vital approach to decarceration.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>A systematic review was completed using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Education Resources Information Center, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, Social Services Abstracts and Social Work Abstracts were searched from inception to March 2021. Inclusion criteria included: the compassionate release policy (or related policy) is implemented in the USA; reported qualitative and/or quantitative outcomes; and reported original data.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Twenty studies formed the final data set. Data analysis revealed four main themes: language barriers, complexities of eligibility criteria, over-reliance on prognostication and social stigma. Barriers to inmates' access to compassionate release policies include unclear or technical language used in policy documents. Eligibility criteria appear to vary across the country, including disease prognoses and the ability to predict terminal declines in health, creating confusion amongst inmates, lawyers and review boards. Stigmas surrounding the rights of incarcerated individuals frequently influence policymakers who experience pressure to maintain a punitive stance to appease constituents, thus discouraging policies and interventions that promote the release of incarcerated individuals.</p><p><strong>Research limitations/implications: </strong>Further research is vital to strengthen the understanding of compassionate release policies and related barriers associated with accessing various types of early parole. To promote social justice for this marginalized population, end-of-life interventions in corrections need to be consistently evaluated with outcomes that improve care for dying inmates.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>Within correctional facilities, correctional health-care workers should play ","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10141513/pdf/nihms-1894055.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9509238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population.","authors":"Kathryn Nowotny, Hannah Metheny, Katherine LeMasters, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0069","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0069","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The USA has a rapidly aging prison population that, combined with their poorer health and living conditions, is at extreme risk for COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to compare COVID-19 mortality trends in the US prison population and the general population to see how mortality risk changed over the course of the pandemic. The authors first provide a national overview of trends in COVID-19 mortality; then, the authors assess COVID-19 deaths among older populations using more detailed data from one US state.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>The authors used multiple publicly available data sets (e.g. Centers for Disease Control and prevention, COVID Prison Project) and indirect and direct standardization to estimate standardized mortality rates covering the period from April 2020 to June 2021 for the US and for the State of Texas.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>While 921 COVID-19-related deaths among people in US prisons were expected as of June 5, 2021, 2,664 were observed, corresponding to a standardized mortality ratio of 2.89 (95%CI 2.78, 3.00). The observed number of COVID-19-related deaths exceeded the expected number of COVID-19-related deaths among people in prison for most of the pandemic, with a substantially widening gap leading to a plateau about four weeks after the COVID-19 vaccine was introduced in the USA. In the state population, the older population in prison is dying at younger ages compared with the general population, with the highest percentage of deaths among people aged 50-64 years.</p><p><strong>Research limitations/implications: </strong>People who are incarcerated are dying of COVID-19 at a rate that far outpaces the general population and are dying at younger ages.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This descriptive analysis serves as a first step in understanding the dynamic trends in COVID-19 mortality and the association between age and COVID-19 death in US prisons.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9377390/pdf/nihms-1828392.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9705785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dementia and the aging population: cognitive screening within correctional health.","authors":"Lance Washington","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0070","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of this study was to examine the literature surrounding dementia in the aging correctional population and assess the role of cognitive screening related to dementia detection within corrections. The literature regarding the role of dementia within the justice continuum is scant. Furthermore, correctional health researchers have not reached a consensus on the best age to administer cognitive screening in older persons or prioritizes a screening tool for the early detection of dementia.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>A key search term list including dementia screening and was developed to review the literature surrounding dementia and the aging correctional population. PubMed, Criminal Justice Abstracts (Ebsco) and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service were used within the academic search. A gray literature search using these same search terms was conducted reviewing criminal justice federal agencies and organizations for additional information on the dementia experience within correctional settings. Snowballing was used to capture relevant theoretical and empirical knowledge.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Shortages in aging specialized health-care staffing presents a barrier for the clinical interpretation of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) results. Correctional officers are also identified as useful candidates within the administration of cognitive screening with proper training. The MoCA may be the optimal cognitive screening tool for dementia, until an original cognitive screening tool is created specific to the correctional population. An age of 55 years or older may serve as the best cutoff score for classifying incarcerated individuals as older persons, and screening should be prioritized for these individuals. Finally, new specialized programs related to dementia within correctional settings are identified.</p><p><strong>Research limitations/implications: </strong>A limitation of this research is the conflicting opinions among researchers regarding the use of general cognitive screening tools within the correctional setting.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This research can inform correctional organizational policy and practices regarding the screening of older persons suspected of dementia. Most notably, this research proposes that correctional settings should incorporate the MoCA within initial screening of all individuals 55 years of age or older, enriching the job design of correctional officer's job positions to include cognitive testing, and for correctional settings to provide dementia and age-associated training for correctional officers. Finally, this paper informs future research in the development of a cognitive assessment tool specific to the correctional population.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10231416/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9919690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Epidemiological, clinical and imaging characteristics of female prisoners with definite COVID-19 in a prison in the southwest, Iran, 2020.","authors":"Maryam Dastoorpoor, Narges Khodadadi, Seyed Hamid Borsi, Farkhondeh Jamshidi, Alireza Babaei Farsani, Mehrdad Noorzadeh","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-03-2021-0027","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-03-2021-0027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Prisoners are at greater risk of infectious diseases compared to the general population. While imprisoned, it is often difficult to observe Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) prevention strategies such as social distancing. To the authors' knowledge, no study has been conducted worldwide to examine the condition of female prisoners with COVID-19. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the epidemiological, clinical and imaging characteristics of prisoners with COVID-19 in Ahvaz Women's Prison (southwest, Iran).</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>The data for this descriptive cross-sectional study was collected using a checklist including epidemiological information, clinical symptoms, X-ray and computed tomography scan findings of the chest, underlying diseases and the final status of all female prisoners whose COVID-19 test was positive.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>This study included 139 female prisoners with COVID-19 with a mean age of 37.19 ± 12.67 years. The most common underlying diseases were hypertension (14.4%), obesity (10.8%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (9.4%). The most common symptoms at the onset of the disease were myalgia (59.0%), cough (41.0%) and dyspnea (37.4%). The most common radiological symptoms were ground-glass opacity (12.9%) and atelectasis (7.2%). In terms of extension of involvement, both lungs were involved in 8.6% of patients. In terms of zonal involvement, the lower lobes were more involved (8.6%). In terms of involvement position, the most common was sub-pleural (10.1%). None of the patients died.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>Because the incidence, morbidity and mortality rate of COVID-19 in the prison population are likely to differ from those of the public. This study sought to investigate the situation of prisoners with COVID-19 in Ahvaz Prison, Khuzestan Province. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first worldwide study in this regard in women's prisons.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49614123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"\"Ubuntu\" I am because we are: COVID-19 and the legal framework for addressing communicable disease in the South African prison system.","authors":"Marie Claire Van Hout, Jakkie Wessels","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-05-2021-0046","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-05-2021-0046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of the paper was to conduct a legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19. Severely congested and ill-resourced prison systems in Africa face unprecedented challenges amplified by COVID-19. South Africa has recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in Africa and, on March 15th 2020, declared a national state of disaster. The first prison system case was notified on April 6th 2020.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>A legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19 in the 12 months following initial case notification focused on the minimum State obligations to comply with human rights norms, and the extent to which human, health and occupational health rights of prisoners and staff were upheld during disaster measures.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>A legal-realist account was developed, which revealed the indeterminate nature of application of South African COVID-19 government directives, ill-resourced COVID-19 mitigation measures, alarming occupational health and prison conditions and inadequate standards of health care in prisons when evaluated against the rule of law during State declaration of disaster.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This legal-realist assessment is original by virtue of its unique evaluation of the South African prison system approach to tackling COVID-19. It acknowledged State efforts, policymaking processes and outcomes and how these operated within the prison system itself. By moving beyond the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the already precarious South African prison system, the authors argue for rights assurance for those who live and work in its prisons, improved infrastructure and greater substantive equality of all deprived of their liberty in South Africa.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9447610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Linsey Ann Belisle, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio
{"title":"Harm reduction: a public health approach to prison drug use.","authors":"Linsey Ann Belisle, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-06-2021-0053","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-06-2021-0053","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>As prison drug use continues to be a concern worldwide, harm reduction practices serve as an alternative approach to traditional abstinence-only or punishment-oriented methods to address substance use behind bars. The purpose of this study is to present a summary of research surrounding prison-based harm reduction programs.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>This narrative review of the international literature summarizes the harms associated with prison drug use followed by an overview of the literature surrounding three prison-based harm reduction practices: opioid agonist therapy, syringe exchange programs and naloxone distribution.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>A collection of international research has found that these three harm reduction programs are safe and feasible to implement in carceral settings. Additionally, these services can effectively reduce some of the harms associated with prison drug use (e.g. risky injection practices, needle sharing, fatal overdoses, etc.). However, these practices are underused in correctional settings in comparison to their use in the community.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>Various policy recommendations are made based on the available literature, including addressing ethical concerns surrounding prison populations' rights to the same standard of health care and services available in the community. By taking a public health approach to prison drug use, harm reduction practices can provide a marginalized, high-risk population of incarcerated individuals with life-saving services rather than punitive, punishment-oriented measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9454031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natasha Ann Ginnivan, Rafal Chomik, Ye In Jane Hwang, John Piggott, Tony Butler, Adrienne Withall
{"title":"The ageing prisoner population: demographic shifts in Australia and implications for the economic and social costs of health care.","authors":"Natasha Ann Ginnivan, Rafal Chomik, Ye In Jane Hwang, John Piggott, Tony Butler, Adrienne Withall","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-09-2020-0062","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-09-2020-0062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The Australian prisoner population has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of older inmates over the past decade, consistent with the greying of the prisoner population that is being observed worldwide. Reviews suggest the need for further evidence and practice outside of the USA. This paper aims to review and discuss the cost and social implications of the rising health-care needs of this population in Australia.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>A review of international research and policies is presented, as well as the results of basic economic modelling relating to the expected rise in health-care costs of the ageing prisoner population in Australia.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Taking into consideration the continued rise in incarceration rates, the calculations show that the health costs of prisoners could increase by anywhere between 17% and 90% depending on whether the increase of older prisoners continues as it has in the past decade. These trends are likely to continue over the next decade and will result in higher health costs of prisons under a number of different imprisonment scenarios. Policy responses in Australia have been slow so far, with most initiatives being undertaken in the USA with promising results.</p><p><strong>Practical implications: </strong>The authors suggest that in the absence of a coordinated policy response, covering a range of interventions, costs will continue to increase, particularly as this population continues to age more rapidly than the general population due to an accumulation of risk factors. Well-conceived interventions would be a worthwhile investment from both financial and social perspectives.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first commentary to acknowledge this rising public health issue and to both review and model its implications for the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47984212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nimasha B Fernando, Daniel M Woznica, Tonderai Mabuto, Christopher J Hoffmann
{"title":"In-facility HIV peer-based rehabilitation programs' role in linkage to care among persons transitioning from correctional to community-based HIV care in South Africa.","authors":"Nimasha B Fernando, Daniel M Woznica, Tonderai Mabuto, Christopher J Hoffmann","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-05-2021-0044","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-05-2021-0044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This analysis aims to examine the role of pre-release, HIV-related, peer-based rehabilitation program attendance on post-release linkage to community-based HIV care in South Africa.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>During a post-release linkage-to-care prospective study, participants from six correctional facilities who had an HIV-positive diagnosis and were taking anti-retroviral medications at release (<i>N</i> = 351) self-reported rehabilitation program participation. Linkage-to-care status 90 days post-release was verified by medical chart review.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>In a binomial regression model, HIV-related, peer-based rehabilitation program attendance was insignificant (relative risk [RR] 1.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.8, 1.4], <i>p</i>-value = 0.7), but short-/long-term incarceration site (RR 1.5, 95% CI [1.0, 2.1], <i>p</i>-value = 0.04) and relationship status pre-incarceration (RR 1.9, 95% CI [1.0, 3.6], <i>p</i>-value = 0.05) were significantly associated with linkage to HIV care post-release.</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>Rehabilitation and peer-based HIV programs have had demonstrated benefit in other settings. Assessment of current programs may identify opportunities for improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9807557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A syndemic examination of injecting drug use, incarceration and multiple drug-related harms in French opioid users.","authors":"Salim Mezaache, Laélia Briand-Madrid, Virginie Laporte, Daniela Rojas Castro, Patrizia Carrieri, Perrine Roux","doi":"10.1108/IJPH-06-2021-0056","DOIUrl":"10.1108/IJPH-06-2021-0056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>People who inject drugs (PWID) face multiple health problems, including infectious diseases and drug overdoses. Applying syndemic and risk environment frameworks, this paper aims to examine the co-occurrence and clustering of drug-related harms and their association with incarceration experience with or without in-prison drug injection.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach: </strong>The authors used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2015 among 557 active opioid injectors. Self-reported data were collected through face-to-face or online questionnaires. They distinguished three harm categories, namely, viral infections, bacterial infections and overdoses, and built an index variable by summing the number of harm categories experienced, yielding a score from 0 to 3. Association between incarceration experience and co-occurrence of harms was modelled using a multinomial logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Of the 557 participants, 30% reported lifetime experience of drug-related viral infection, 46% bacterial infection and 22% drug overdose. Multinomial logistic models showed that those who injected drugs during incarceration were more likely to report two (aOR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.03-5.36) and three (aOR = 9.72, 95% CI: 3.23-29.22) harm categories than those who had never been incarcerated. They were also more likely to report three harm categories than formerly incarcerated respondents who did not inject drugs in prison (aOR = 5.14, 95% CI: 1.71-15.48).</p><p><strong>Originality/value: </strong>This study provides insights of the syndemic nature of drug-related harms and highlights that drug injection during incarceration is associated with co-occurring harms. Public health interventions and policy changes are needed to limit the deleterious impact of prison on PWID.</p>","PeriodicalId":45561,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Prisoner Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2022-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9459622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}