Care of Correctional Population
Correctional environments offer a unique health care environment different from typical community healthcare settings. This is largely due to the assortment of individual making up the population which varies in age, gender, and other health issues. It is important to promote health care services within correctional facilities to promote human rights. Although conditions inside of correctional facilities are not ideal preventive services are put in place such as screenings, immunizations, and treatment of various health problems. Resolving existing problems such as drug abuse, mental health issues, and illness can help reduce the likelihood of rearrests and promote effective reentry and prevent recidivism.
Population …show more content…
Environmental conditions and behaviors due to confinement within correctional facilities allow for the easy transmission of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and hepatitis. Various surrounding factors foster the spread illness rapidly such as overcrowding, poor unhygienic conditions, absence of temperature control, inadequate ventilation, and overall poor health status of the population. Infectious diseases are not the only health issues facing this population chronic conditions, dental health, and mental health. Suicide is a particularly common and highly prevalent among this group due to social isolation and other mental illness. According to Jacobs and Mullany (2015), “vitamin D deficiency is associated with a myriad of adverse health outcomes, consideration should be given to providing dietary or supplemental vitamin D to inmates at correctional facilities.” Adequate nutrition among inmates is also a concern due to the possibility of preventing other environmental related diseases and conditions. Other behavioral influences also impact health such as drug and tobacco use, as well as high risk sexual …show more content…
Prevention starts at preventing incarceration which can be achieved with utilization of community support programs such as drug abuse and mental health. The next level would begin by preventing the spread of communicable disease which can be done by thoroughly assessing and screening for possible infectious diseases upon admission into the facility. Other important factors include immunization of the population as well as isolation of infected persons, universal precautions, education about hygiene, and preventing the spread of HIV, hepatitis. According to Forde (2015), “The system of jails and prisons that holds those individuals has become the largest provider of mental health care in the country, with rates of psychotic illness many times higher than in the community.” Nurses in the correctional setting assess individuals for existing health problems as well as identifying problems that have a high incidence and prevalence in the overall institutional population. Major goals are to promote safety and reduce the risk of injury, suicide, and violence by identifying high risk inmates and referral to mental health services as
Correctional environments offer a unique health care environment different from typical community healthcare settings. This is largely due to the assortment of individual making up the population which varies in age, gender, and other health issues. It is important to promote health care services within correctional facilities to promote human rights. Although conditions inside of correctional facilities are not ideal preventive services are put in place such as screenings, immunizations, and treatment of various health problems. Resolving existing problems such as drug abuse, mental health issues, and illness can help reduce the likelihood of rearrests and promote effective reentry and prevent recidivism.
Population …show more content…
Environmental conditions and behaviors due to confinement within correctional facilities allow for the easy transmission of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and hepatitis. Various surrounding factors foster the spread illness rapidly such as overcrowding, poor unhygienic conditions, absence of temperature control, inadequate ventilation, and overall poor health status of the population. Infectious diseases are not the only health issues facing this population chronic conditions, dental health, and mental health. Suicide is a particularly common and highly prevalent among this group due to social isolation and other mental illness. According to Jacobs and Mullany (2015), “vitamin D deficiency is associated with a myriad of adverse health outcomes, consideration should be given to providing dietary or supplemental vitamin D to inmates at correctional facilities.” Adequate nutrition among inmates is also a concern due to the possibility of preventing other environmental related diseases and conditions. Other behavioral influences also impact health such as drug and tobacco use, as well as high risk sexual …show more content…
Prevention starts at preventing incarceration which can be achieved with utilization of community support programs such as drug abuse and mental health. The next level would begin by preventing the spread of communicable disease which can be done by thoroughly assessing and screening for possible infectious diseases upon admission into the facility. Other important factors include immunization of the population as well as isolation of infected persons, universal precautions, education about hygiene, and preventing the spread of HIV, hepatitis. According to Forde (2015), “The system of jails and prisons that holds those individuals has become the largest provider of mental health care in the country, with rates of psychotic illness many times higher than in the community.” Nurses in the correctional setting assess individuals for existing health problems as well as identifying problems that have a high incidence and prevalence in the overall institutional population. Major goals are to promote safety and reduce the risk of injury, suicide, and violence by identifying high risk inmates and referral to mental health services as