Authors: Michael Forrest Behne, Joshua A. Barocas, Josiah D. Rich, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein
Abstract: Given the evident impact on health and the historical inequities of the criminal legal system, it is clearer than ever that carceral health is vital to public health. Yet, we lack basic data about health care being provided to the incarcerated population.
To assess the magnitude and distribution of the impact of disease on a certain population, researchers often rely on health care data sets that provide insight into inpatient hospitalization. However, carceral data sets (those obtained from prisons or jails) often include very limited information related to health. Departments of Correction (DOCs) are legally required to provide health care and fulfill this obligation through hired or contracted medical services, referral to community-based providers, DOC-managed prison hospitals, or some combination thereof. Health records generated and maintained by DOCs are not uniformly subject to public records requests, and statistical reports are rarely available through government websites; when DOC-reported carceral health information is available, it is not reported according to any standardized systems. The sole federal program dedicated to reporting the health of incarcerated populations relies on survey-based research publications prepared by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Key Findings
- Researchers identified each state (n = 19) that maintains health care facilities dedicated exclusively to the in-patient care of incarcerated patients (n = 28)
- Researchers contacted the established HCUP partner organization within these states to ask if information from these care facilities was collected and transmitted to the AHRQ
- These inquiries revealed that these agencies categorically exclude data from prison hospitals in state data sets and subsequent federal reporting
