Abstract
Disparities in health status and health care between Latinos and other race/ethnic groups in the United States have been broadly documented in the scientific literature (IOM 2003). However, national data sources and reports on health disparities have excluded institutionalized populations such as those who are incarcerated (CDC 2004; APHA 2004; AHRQ 2005). It is axiomatic in criminology that people of low socioeconomic status are more likely to be prosecuted for crimes than are rich ones, and that minority group arrestees are at a significant disadvantage in every stage of judicial processing within the criminal justice system. Therefore, structural factors operate to increase both risk of Latino males experiencing both poor health and the greater likelihood of incarceration in facilities where disease is rampant, medical care is commonly delayed and substandard, and violence is routine. By the end of 2005, a total of 2,320,359 individuals were incarcerated in U.S. correctional facilities, with Latinos comprising 20.2 percent of prisoners in federal and state correctional facilities and 15 percent of inmates in local jails (Harrison and Beck 2006b). At the same time, the penal system has been remiss in systematically documenting the health status and access to adequate health care of incarcerated individuals. There is no national health data system for accurately documenting the health status and health care needs of incarcerated individuals in federal or state prisons or local jails. Currently, national estimates of health conditions of incarcerated populations are derived from calculations based on data sets from noninstitutionalized populations. Given the disproportionate incarceration rates of minority populations, especially males (Harrison and Beck 2006a), the need to improve data on the health status of incarcerated individuals and address differences among various race/ethnic groups is a significant but neglected part of the health disparities picture in the United States. Moreover, accurate disease rates among the different soon-to-be-released Latino subgroups inform us about illnesses that can affect the community to which the inmate returns and enable us to predict and procure preventive and treatment services, easing the community burden suffered at time of reentry.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Health Issues in Latino Males |
| Subtitle of host publication | A Social and Structural Approach |
| Publisher | Rutgers University Press |
| Pages | 139-157 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780813546032 |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
