Abstract
The single mission of academic medicine is the pursuit of health for all. This mandate serves as a reminder to focus care on vulnerable and underserved populations. The 12 million Americans who cycle through correctional facilities each year are arguably among the most vulnerable populations in this country; predominantly black, with a high burden of disease and many barriers to care after release. Medical training programs should provide exposure to the health needs of prisoners. Residents could establish care with inmates prior to release and arrange follow-up in the community. This addition to training would not only provide care to this underserved group, but also would train residents in the myriad problems prisoners face, and foster social responsibility.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Turka LA. Lost in a dark wood. J Clin Invest. 2007;117(7):1733–4.
Ramsey PG, Miller ED. A single mission for academic medicine: improving health. JAMA. 2009;301(14):1475–6.
Gondles EF. A call to immunize the correctional population for hepatitis A and B. AJM 2005 118 Suppl 10A:84S–89S.
The PEW Center on the States, One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections (Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts, March 2009).
Hughes T, Wilson DJ. Reentry Trends in the United States; Inmates returning to the Community after Serving Time in Prison. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available online http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/reentry/reentry_contents.htm#contents accessed January 11, 2010.
Hammett TM, Harmon MP, Rhodes W. The burden of infectious disease among inmates of and releasees from US correctional facilities, 1997. Am J Public Health. 2002;92(11):1789–94.
Bick JA. Infection control in jails and prisons. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;45(8):1047–55.
National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The Health of Soon to be Released Inmates. March, 2002. Available online at http://www.ncchc.org/pubs/pubs_stbr.vol1.html accessed January 11, 2010.
Baillargeon J, Black SA, Pulvion J, Dunn K. The disease profile of Texas prison inmates. Ann Epidemiol. 2000;10:74–80.
Kraus ML, Isaacson JH, Kahn R, Mundt MP, Manwell LB. Medical education about the care of addicted incarcerated persons: a national survey of residency programs. Subst Abuse. 2001;22(2):97–104.
Isaacson JH, Fleming M, Kraus M, Kahn R, Mundt MJ. A national survey of training in substance use disorders in residency programs. Stud Alcohol. 2000;61(6):912–5.
Lincoln T, Kennedy S, Tuthill R, Roberts C, Conklin TJ, Hammett TM. Facilitators and barriers to continuing healthcare after jail a community-integrated program. J Ambul Care Manage. 2006;29(1):2–16.
Babor TF, McRee BG, Kassebaum PA, Grimaldi PL, Ahmed K, Bray J. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT): toward a public health approach to the management of substance abuse. Subst Abus. 2007:28(3):7–30.
Alemagno SA, Wilkinson M, Levy L. Medical Education Goes to Prison: Why? Acad Med. 2004 79(2):123–7.
Levine RS, Foster JE, Fullilove RE, et al. Black-white inequalities in mortality and life expectancy, 1933–1999: implications for healthy people 2010. Public Health Rep. 2001;116(5):474–83.
Sabol WJ, Minton TD, Harrison PM. Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear, 2006. US Department of Justice 2007;Document NCJ 217675.
Wohl DA, Rosen D, Kaplan AH. HIV and incarceration: dual epidemics. AIDS Read. 2006 16(5):247–50, 257–60
Golembeski C, Fullilove R. Criminal (in)justice in the city and its associated health consequences. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(9 Suppl):S185–90.
Sutton MY, Jones RL, Wolitski RJ, Cleveland JC, Dean HD, Fenton KA. A review of the centers for disease control and prevention’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis among Blacks in the United States, 1981–2009. Am J Public Health. 2009;99(Suppl 2):S351–9.
Faulkner LR, McCurdy RL. Teaching medical students social responsibility: the right thing to do. Acad Med. 2000 75(4):346–50.
Smith JK, Weaver DB. Capturing medical students’ idealism. Ann Fam Med. 2006;4(Suppl 1):S32–7.
Littlewood S, Ypinazar V, Margolis SA, Scherpbier A, Spencer J, Dornan T. Early practical experience and the social responsiveness of clinical education: systematic review. BMJ 331(7513):387–91.
Dixon PS, Flanigan TP, DeBuono BA, et al. Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus in prisoners: meeting the health care challenge. Am J Med. 1993;95(6):629–35.
Clarke JG, Cyr MG, Spaulding A. Prisons: learning about women’s health and substance abuse. Acad Med. 2000;75(5):544.
Flanigan TP, Zaller N, Taylor L, Beckwith C, Kuester L, Rich J, Carpenter CC. HIV and infectious disease care in jails and prisons: breaking down the walls with the help of academic medicine. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc. 2009;120:73–83.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by grant number 1K24DA022112-01A from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
(NIDA/NIH) to Dr Rich and by grant number P30-AI-42853 from the National
Institutes of Health, Center for AIDS Research (NIH/CFAR), and by grant number P30DA013868 from the NIDA funded Center for Drug Abuse and AIDS Research (CDAAR). We would like to thank Dr. Charles C. J. Carpenter for his ongoing inspiration, mentorship and careful review of this manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest
None disclosed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wakeman, S.E., Rich, J.D. Fulfilling the Mission of Academic Medicine: Training Residents in the Health Needs of Prisoners. J GEN INTERN MED 25 (Suppl 2), 186–188 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-010-1258-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-010-1258-4