The Prevalence Of Hiv During The United States

As incarceration rates rise, health-related outcomes do as well. From 1970 to 2014, the U.S. prison population has risen 700% (Vera Institute of Justice) and by 2001, one in three Black men are sent to prison during their lifetime (Bonczar 5). Before disregarding prison health, it is important to first consider the implications on all of society. If we took better care of our prisoners, the entire U.S. population would be healthier. According to epidemiological studies conducted by the Population Studies Center, if the rate of U.S. incarceration in 1973 remained the same, there would be a 7.8% reduction in infant mortality by 2003 (Wildeman 2). 50% of all prisoners suffer from diagnosable mental illnesses (James and Glaze 1). Some of the most

These women need regular medical surveillance even for the minor things. According to Cynthia Chandler and Carol Kingery, “The dramatic increase in imprisonment in the United States has been accompanied by epidemic rates of HIV among prisoners. Moreover, women currently incarcerated in the U.S. suffer disproportionately higher rates of HIV infection than do free people and male prisoners.” These women need counseling and therapy especially if they have cancer, HIV/ AIDS, or mental illnesses. This neglect can be extremely fetal. Many women have already died because of this; we do not want the numbers to increase. Proper treatment is necessary.

Medical problems are recognized as issues with health, dental, psychological, injury, and other ailments of the human body. Inmate access to adequate medical care is sometimes unavailable and because of this, chronic and viral illnesses run rampant within the U.S. prison system. Based on a survey of inmates during 2004, a variety of information has been made available regarding inmate medical and health issues which can be used to make inferences and develop solutions to the prison healthcare system in the United States.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff 's Department is tasked with providing health care services to all incarcerated prisoners within a jail system which at present exceeds 18,500 inmates. Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) provides care and treatment for inmates requiring inpatient medical and or psychiatric care in this 196-bed rated medical unit located in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. The inmate population is in poor health, largely due to the lifestyle choices of the inmates which often include substance abuse, violence, and living on the streets of Los Angeles. They require the same basic medical care that all residents of Los Angeles County require, including routine illness to advanced medical issues such as tuberculosis (TB), AIDS/HIV+, heart disease, diabetes, dialysis, paraplegics, and acute mental health problems. Additionally, problems associated with aging are becoming common as the jail population increasingly includes older inmates. In the wake of chronic overcrowding in the county lockups, the Sheriff 's Department has been struggling to provide adequate care for thousands of inmates, many of whom have never been treated, with illnesses ranging from tuberculosis to AIDS to schizophrenia. Reported rates of tuberculosis in jails and prisons are more than six times higher than those for the general population. Jails and prisons concentrate individuals at high risk for TB or noncompliance with therapy, including those who are

Linder and Frederick J. Meyers. This article starts with a story about an inmate who found out he had cancer while incarcerated. Then, it goes on to incorporate his story throughout the article in interview form to provide inside information on the treatment of prisoners. Most inmates come in with addictions and substance abuse, no access to health care, homelessness, and untreated mental illnesses (Linder and Meyers 895). They blame this on the lack of medical health that’s available to the general population. According to Linder and Meyers, “Inmates and the free-living populations share 6 of the 10 leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, influenza/pneumonia, and septicemia”. With the remaining four for inmates being liver disease, AIDS, self-harm and digestion

The incarcerated population are typically of low socioeconomic and low education levels. (4) Interestingly, low socioeconomic status and education levels on their own are directly linked with poor health. (5) When these social determinants of health are combined with prisonisation; the adaptation process in which incarcerated individuals adjust themselves to behavioural standards within the institutions which are not comparable with those of life outside prison.(6) This confines the already vulnerable to an environment of violence and drug use, which leads to further decline in health status while serving sentences. (1) In addition to the low socioeconomic status and education level of prison inmates, we can also establish that inmates are predominately male when compared to the

Overcrowding, violence, poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions, and solitary confinement are all issues that contribute to public health consequences all over the world (Cloud, 2014). Being incarcerated exposes inmates to health risks such as risky sexual behavior with little access to condoms and shared needles for drug use and tattooing (Dumont, 2012). Compared to the general population, the people that seem to be incarcerated the most seem to come from poor communities, where there seems to be higher rates of chronic diseases. For example these diseases include the higher rates of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, hepatitis C virus, HIV, and syphilis all occur within correctional facilities. Furthermore, when these individuals return home, correctional facilities lack in providing them with access to valuable health care services and resources, and this ultimately further exacerbates the negative consequences of their health which contributes to population health disparities. Overall, public health agencies need to play a more active role for the incarceration

Each day, men, women and children are put behind bars suffer from lack of access to medical health care. Chronic illnesses go untreated, emergencies are ignored, and patients with serious illnesses fail to receive needed care. A small failure to medical care can turn in to death of an inmate if left untreated. Prisoners are humans whether inmates or not, with normal health issues or diseases. Even a common cold is an example of an illness that needs treatment. A lot with what is wrong with the health care system today, in the United States deals with money. Within prisons, it is an entire different story. The mission of medical care is to diagnose, comfort and cure. These goals are not being achieved within the prison system. Care needs to be given to every inmate, even the most despised and violent one among them all.

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

The following pages contain information on the AIDS and HIV epidemic within the United States prison system. The characteristics of these inmates will be discussed and how well this population adjusts to the environment. There are some treatments and services provided to these inmates in and outside the walls of the prison. The public views are not very friendly, but the criminal justice system is trying to make it easy for the inmates to return back to society with help on how to cope with the disease.

Contrary to popular belief sexually transmitted diseases are not the only physical harm victims of prison rape endure. Many rape victims endure broken bones, broken noses, bruises, cuts, concussions, and the obvious genital injuries. Sexual assaults also increases violent behavior in prisons because inmates who feel like they may be a future target of sexually assault, defend themselves, and lash out in these violent rages and fights to establish themselves with a “tough guy” reputation to prevent any sexual misconduct from other inmates.

Until the war on drugs is abolished, overcrowding in our prisons including the women’s faculties will remain a serious issue. There needs to be a modified approach that includes treatment outside of prison and penalties for substance abuse addicts. Unfortunately,

Dominique Robert’s (2008) theoretical framework in the article “Prison and/as Public Health. Prison and Inmates as Vectors of Health in the New Public Health Era. The Case of Canadian Penitentiaries” focuses on structural elements that explain the use of correctional health care in the prison setting today and how this plays a role in the broader public health strategies in the outside community. He does this by explaining factors such as “the mobilisation of prison as a tool for the new public health” and "the production of inmates into healthcare ‘consumers’, along with the role of actuarial justice.”

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It can lead to immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. It is caused by the HIV entering the uninfected body and stats to destroy CD4+cells which are there to help the body fight infection and disease (Webmd.com, 2014). Once you have HIV, you have it for life. More than 1.1 million people in United States alone are living with HIV and 1 out of 6 font even know it. About 50,000 people are infected with HIV each year (Cdc.gov, 2014). It is more commonly see in the gay community particularly young black males. In 2011 an estimated that 15,529 people had died. (Aids.gov, 2014)

The HIV and AIDS pandemic remains one the most serious development crises in the world (WHO, 2006). Women and children bear a disproportionate share of the burden, and in many settings continue to experience high rates of new HIV infections and of HIV-related illness and death. In 2005 alone, an estimated 540 000 children were newly infected with HIV, with about