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Behind the Wall of Indifference: Prisoner Voices about the Realities of Prison Health Care

Author

Listed:
  • Barbara H. Zaitzow

    (Department of Government and Justice Studies, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA)

  • Anthony K. Willis

    (North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Raleigh, NC 28034, USA)

Abstract

While most Americans never see or become ensnared in the nation’s vast correctional system, there are unprecedented costs—economic, social, and ethical—that are being paid, one way or another, by everyone in this country. It is no secret that prison inmates face health threats behind bars that equal anything they face in the streets. Violent assault, rape, or the outbreak of highly infectious diseases are much more common in correctional facilities than in the general population. Prison conditions can easily fan the spread of disease through overcrowding, poor ventilation, and late or inadequate medical care. Effectively protected from public scrutiny, the prison health care system has almost zero accountability, thus escaping outside attention to serious failures of care. If you want to know about the practice of health care in prison settings, ask someone who has been “in” the system. Prisoners have a story to tell and this article gives voice to the experiences of those who have been directly impacted by the provision of health care in the prison system.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara H. Zaitzow & Anthony K. Willis, 2021. "Behind the Wall of Indifference: Prisoner Voices about the Realities of Prison Health Care," Laws, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlawss:v:10:y:2021:i:1:p:11-:d:500106
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kouyoumdjian, F.G. & McIsaac, K.E. & Liauw, J. & Green, S. & Karachiwalla, F. & Siu, W. & Burkholder, K. & Binswanger, I. & Kiefer, L. & Kinner, S.A. & Korchinski, M. & Matheson & Young, P. & Hwang, S, 2015. "A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of interventions to improve the health of persons during imprisonment and in the year after release," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(4), pages 13-33.
    2. Wilper, A.P. & Woolhandler, S. & Boyd, J.W. & Lasser, K.E. & McCormick, D. & Bor, D.H. & Himmelstein, D.U., 2009. "The health and health care of US prisoners: Results of a nationwide survey," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(4), pages 666-672.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ryan D. Talbert & Emma D. Macy, 2022. "Former Incarceration, Time Served, and Perceived Oral Health among African American Women and Men," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-13, October.

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