Prison Health Care Issues in Kansas and Ohio: The Perspective of Female Inmates

• In Event: Barriers to Health Care Access in Prisons

Abstract

This paper will discuss qualitative findings from 53 female inmates interviewed within 1 prison in Kansas and 3 prisons in Ohio in 2010. Many of the inmates had serious concerns about the availability of quality health care in prison and the timeliness of responses to requests for health care assistance. Also, the inmates identified numerous administrative barriers to receiving quality health care within each state. Deleterious consequences of receiving inadequate prison health care were poignantly elaborated upon by some inmates. Suggestions are offered for improving the overall quality of health care and modifying administrative procedures for obtaining health care are discussed in this paper. For example in Ohio, a specialized health care unit at one prison site increases the likelihood of women receiving immediate specialized health care for serious conditions. Creative solutions to healthcare problems that were identified by inmates are proposed to assist correctional administrators in each state to enhance the quality of prison-based health care.

Authors

• Janice Proctor, Ohio University Eastern

• Tiffany Bumgardner, Ohio University Eastern