Contemporary Issues: Infectious Diseases among Inmate Populations
Contemporary Issues-Infectious Diseases among Inmate Populations
DeAnna Huey
University of Phoenix
Contemporary Issues-Infectious Diseases among Inmate Populations
Infectious disease is any disease that is able to spread among our public and contained population, thus being called infectious. An infectious disease travels through the environment, as it passes from one person to another through means of airborne, droplets, contaminated water, clothes, bedding, utensils or anything that has come in contact with an infected person. Diseases spread as the result of direct personal contact with bacteria. The most pressing issue that our prisons face when dealing with communicable disease is population density. Inmates are living most of their days in eight by eight cells that would normally accommodate one person, and are sharing it with two or more additional inmates. This creates an environment where a disease can easily be transmitted from one person to another in a short period of time. With the prison systems revolving door of inmates every year, it is not easy to provide a detailed medical screen for every intake. The amount of inmates coming in and their lack of screening together creates an enviroment through which disease can be introduced into the population. Many inmates didn’t have or could not afford health insurance, and were unaware they had a disease, or were unable to afford treatment. So many inmates come through intake, and are unaware that they carry HIV, Hepatitis C, and other diseases, and are under the assumption that their initial health screen will detect the disease. This is simply a lack of knowledge, and lack of personal care before becoming incarcerated. Inmates think that they are in a disease screened environment, and still other will unknowingly carry the disease and possibly spread it because they are unaware they had it. Initial screenings may only test for diseases such as hepatitis C, and only certain
DeAnna Huey
University of Phoenix
Contemporary Issues-Infectious Diseases among Inmate Populations
Infectious disease is any disease that is able to spread among our public and contained population, thus being called infectious. An infectious disease travels through the environment, as it passes from one person to another through means of airborne, droplets, contaminated water, clothes, bedding, utensils or anything that has come in contact with an infected person. Diseases spread as the result of direct personal contact with bacteria. The most pressing issue that our prisons face when dealing with communicable disease is population density. Inmates are living most of their days in eight by eight cells that would normally accommodate one person, and are sharing it with two or more additional inmates. This creates an environment where a disease can easily be transmitted from one person to another in a short period of time. With the prison systems revolving door of inmates every year, it is not easy to provide a detailed medical screen for every intake. The amount of inmates coming in and their lack of screening together creates an enviroment through which disease can be introduced into the population. Many inmates didn’t have or could not afford health insurance, and were unaware they had a disease, or were unable to afford treatment. So many inmates come through intake, and are unaware that they carry HIV, Hepatitis C, and other diseases, and are under the assumption that their initial health screen will detect the disease. This is simply a lack of knowledge, and lack of personal care before becoming incarcerated. Inmates think that they are in a disease screened environment, and still other will unknowingly carry the disease and possibly spread it because they are unaware they had it. Initial screenings may only test for diseases such as hepatitis C, and only certain
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