NCJ Number
211986
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 30 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2005 Pages: 10-31
Date Published
September 2005
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes results of the Corrections Compendium survey on inmate health care and communicable diseases.
Abstract
A total of 42 United States correctional systems and 4 Canadian correctional systems responded to the mailed survey. Results of the United States survey are presented in table and summary narrative format, while the Canadian results are displayed in table format only. Results indicated that for calendar year 2004, the participating United States correctional systems allocated an average of 14.9 percent of their total departmental budget to inmate health care. While 37 percent of United States correctional systems increased health care staff during 2004, another 34 percent decreased staff due to nursing shortages and physician retirements. In terms of specialty health services, 39 percent of United States respondents offered specialized elderly care programs, 100 percent offered specialized female health programming, 76 percent offered programming for the chronically ill, and only 18 percent reported having specialized programming for terminally ill inmates. Inmates with HIV/AIDS comprised 2.9 percent of the total inmate population of the responding United States correctional systems, while those with hepatitis C ranged from .07 percent to 30 percent of the total inmate population. Data are also presented on the medical co-pay and release plans of correctional systems, as well as their telemedicine use and their medical care priorities for the future, which include staffing and budget concerns. Tables