Research Paper on Rising Healthcare Costs in Prisons: Elderly, Poor, Women, Mental Health

Introduction

Healthcare costs in prisons over the past have been increasingly costly. Various inmates' groups or categories have been identified where individuals specifically influence the nature and general healthcare of prisoners. Some of the main groups that have been identified and where the basis of healthcare has emerged include elderly inmates, women groups of inmates, groups of inmates from poor backgrounds, and mental health group of inmates, among other groups. Elderly inmates and inmates from poor backgrounds are the two distinctive groups of inmates that have to a higher extends contributed to cost-effective healthcare in prisons. The reasons behind these groups follow their health risks and financial backgrounds, where the majority of these groups are identified with various infections; thus, the need for improved healthcare to reduce transmission infections within prison environments. In the context of the elderly inmates' group, the majority of the reason why it seems an active group influences effective healthcare services within a prison setting follows their increased healthcare risks and problems. Some of the main issues these groups are subjects of include inductions such as mental health conditions, and chronic illness such as tuberculosis. The case study analyses two distinctive inmates' groups that have contributed to the rising costs of providing healthcare in prisons by discussing the reasons why they have been identified as responsible groups.

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Elderly Inmate Group

Elderly inmates group cover one of the groups that contribute to an increased or rising cost of providing healthcare services in prisons. It serves as a particular group of interest in the context of healthcare provision across prisons as the members of this group are subjects of health problems. The elderly group within prisons are subjected to healthcare challenges where the majority are diagnosed with a chronic condition such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, among other categories of healthcare problems or situations. Such chronic diseases identified with these groups provide an active reason why there is an increased or rising cost of providing healthcare services within prisons. Hepatitis B presents another medical challenge where the elderly inmate groups are subjects of problems. It provides an increased healthcare service, which explains why there is an increased cost of healthcare services across prisons. Increased costs are driven by the need to offer vaccines to such vulnerable groups to prevent any high spread-rate. Each reason provided explains the reasons why there is an increased cost in providing healthcare services within prison settings.

Elderly inmate groups actively contribute to an increased or rising cost of providing healthcare services in prisons because of larger populations or increased number of individuals with stated conditions. Elderly individuals who are victims of Hepatitis B and C have been identified across different prison settings where the number has constantly been increasing. An increased number of these groups implies an increased or rising cost of services needed within a prison setting. It explains the basis of increasing costs of healthcare services in prisons and why elderly inmates cover a distinctive group that actively contributes to increased costs of healthcare services in prisons. The higher the number of inmates, the higher the cost of services needed in prisons. Since the majority of these groups have been identified in large numbers, it means that they contribute to the rising pattern of healthcare services within prisons environment.

Inmate Groups from a Poor Background

Inmate groups from a poor background present another group that contributes to an active increasing or rising costs of healthcare services in prisons. These groups of inmates have been identified with transmissive infections such as contagious disease, which requires maximum healthcare interventions to prevent any possible infection patterns to other members of the groups in prisons. The mentioned group of inmates is a subject of varieties of health problems or conditions that range from infectious disease to health sexually transmitted disease where precise interventions should be in place to cab the spread. All medical interventions to manage these infections advocate for financial aids, thus explaining the reason why such a group contributes to rising healthcare in prisons.

Mental conditions also explain why this group of inmates' individuals contributes to an increasing or rising cost of healthcare in prisons. They are identified with various categories of mental health problems where the cost of healthcare is determined. Mental state such as schizophrenia, hallucinations, and delusions accounts for increased healthcare costs made responsible by these groups, among other groups with similar medical conditions. Such conditions demand extra attention where resources are needed in abundance, thus explaining why such groups are made responsible for an increased cost of healthcare within the prison setting.

Several programs exist where prisoners are provided with medical healthcare services both during the jail term and when getting to jail. Some of the programs include screening exercise where prisoners are examined upon entering prions. It is one of the programs that actively aims to prevent the spread of any infectious diseases to the inmates or groups of people who are members of a prison. Prescription programs also identify some of the leading healthcare programs that provide a platform where prisoners are accorded various health care services as connected to their specified problems.

References

Clements, A. J., Kinman, G., & Hart, J. (2020). Stress and well-being in prison officers. In Handbook of Research on Stress and Well-Being in the Public Sector. Edward Elgar Publishing. http://uobrep.openrepository.com/uobrep/handle/10547/623276

John-Evans, H., Davies, B., Sellen, J., & Mercer, J. (2020). Functions of non-suicidal self-injury in prisoners with mental health diagnoses. Mental Health Practice, 23(1). https://repository.cardiffmet.ac.uk/handle/10369/9655