Identifying Opportunities to Promote the Reproductive Health and Goals of Formerly Incarcerated Young Men

• In Event: New Perspectives on Social Behavior and Desistance

Abstract

Introduction: Mass incarceration in the United States (US) is a driver of health disparities, including among young men (e.g., ages 15-29) who are disproportionately impacted. Still, we know very little about formerly incarcerated young men’s reproductive health and goals, or the policy and programmatic levers that might optimize these outcomes.
Methods: We conducted 23 key informant interviews with public health, medical, and criminal legal experts, representing 9 US states and the District of Columbia (DC). Guided by Braun and Clarke’s process of thematic analysis and utilizing an abductive approach, we employed Dedoose software to analyze the interview data.
Results: Formerly incarcerated young men’s reproductive health is often overlooked and under-addressed, with other reintegration needs being perceived as more pressing and, as a result, prioritized. When reproductive health needs are addressed, more immediate concerns and risk mitigation (e.g., STI screening, treatment) are emphasized over strengths-based approaches. Most service providers remain unaware of young men’s family formation priorities. Still, some discussed trauma-informed counseling, financial stability, and healthy relationship education as integral to supporting reproductive health.
Discussion: Results can inform tailored supports and provide first-of-its-kind data that can shape a national agenda for further research centering formerly incarcerated young men’s reproductive health.

Authors

• Ingie Osman, University of Minnesota

• Krista P. Woodward, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Alison Gemmill, University of California, Los Angeles

• Rebecca Shlafer, University of Minnesota

• Arik V. Marcell, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

• Alexander Testa, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

• Dylan B. Jackson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health