How Qualitative Methods can Inform Health and Healthcare in Prisons and Jails

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

The overrepresentation of individuals in the criminal justice system with health needs is well documented in the literature. A variety of challenges persist in accessing and delivering appropriate healthcare and treatment in prison and jail settings. This panel features four studies that use qualitative methods to better understand healthcare delivery and treatment in prisons and jails. The first presentation explores mental health needs and barriers to treatment in a large Midwest jail. Information was gleaned from 18 months of working groups and included insights from both staff and residents. The second presentation discusses findings from 46 interviews with correctional health workers and assesses how they assert their medical and clinical independence from custody staff and their struggles to do so. The third presentation is an exploratory analysis of the SMART Recovery Program in two state prisons. Data consist of post-program completion narratives from 57 residents with substance use disorders and themes suggest it is a compelling treatment model. The final presentation draws on data from in-depth interviews with older men in maximum security segregation unites and addresses the ways living in segregation can uniquely shape health and health care for older adults.

Sub Unit

• Area XI. Methodology / 81. Advances in Qualitative Methods

Individual Presentations

• “We Are Punished for Having Mental Health Issues”: Examining Mental Health Needs in a Midwest Jail - Laura L. Lightfoot, Arizona State University; Beth M. Huebner, Arizona State University; Carrie Pettus, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations; Faye S. Taxman, Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence, George Mason University; Nancy McCarthy, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations; Rebeccah Bennett, Emerging Wisdom LLC & InPower Institute

• “I’m the One with the Degree:” Challenges to Medical Autonomy in Correctional Healthcare - Allison Gorga, Webster University

• “The SMART Program is a Refuge:” The Potential of SMART Recovery for Individuals in Prison with Substance Use Disorder - Jennifer Bronson, PIRE; Tamara Daley, Abt Global

• The Health Burdens of Segregation for Older Incarcerated Adults - Meghan A. Novisky, University of Cincinnati; Stephanie Grace Prost, University of Louisville

Chair

• Carrie Pettus, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations

Discussant

• Carrie Pettus, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations

Organized by a Division or external group?

Division of Health and Disability Criminology (DHDC)