Importance Of Health Care In Prisons

One of the main issues America face now a days within correctional institutions is affordable and proper health care for the inmates. The millions of inmates in the U.S. correctional institutions have high rates of communicable diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, tuberculosis, hepatitis B virus infection, and gonorrhea. Before many of the inmates were incarcerated, most inmates had limited access to healthcare, which, together with poor compliance and lifestyle situations, it made it difficult to identify and treat within the general community.

Providing health care to inmates of prisons and jails may provide the opportunity to control the spread of certain communicable diseases. Communicable diseases are common among approximately 1.2 million inmates in U.S. prisons and jails. Inmates in prisons and jails represent a portion of the population that is difficult to treat within the community. Many of the inmates are poor and do not have access to health care outside of correctional facilities. Their lifestyles outside of the prisons and jails may also make compliance with different types of health care difficult. Inmates within many institutions undergo a physical examination and testing for certain communicable diseases. But just because they receive the testing doesn’t mean they are going to receive the proper treatment for their illness, while they are incarcerated.

Sometimes it’s hard for correctional institutions to treat infected individuals. Mainly because the inmates refuse to notify them of any illness they may have had before their incarceration, or it’s a matter of never be checked, and the illness is not too detected until months or maybe even years later. Some inmates may not disclose the...

... middle of paper ...

...e lack of health care inmates receive, and how it could be damaging for the community upon the release of inmate. People don’t realize that once and inmate is released from prison majority of them were not treated properly for any illness they may have had before being incarcerated, or something they contracted while being incarcerated. Without the proper treatment for these inmates, these inmates are released back into the public amongst everyone else out in the world with these same illnesses, and risk infecting whoever they come in contact with. This later leads to the spread of these viruses and causing the issues of affordable health care for the people out in the world to be a major issue, not only for those who are not able to afford health care but for all individuals in need of medical attention because of the spread of these viruses from previous inmates.