The U.S. prison system has a problem.

The prison population has a problem. It’s a place where the majority of people enter with pre-existing health conditions, and once there, they are subjected to less than satisfactory treatment and preventative services for their health.

It’s like being given a death sentence, regardless of the length of their original sentence.

Consider the fact that African Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of whites, and Latinx people are incarcerated at a rate of 1.4% than that of whites.

Since a disproportionate number of incarcerated individuals are from impoverished backgrounds, and people living in poverty typically have chronic health conditions and a weakened immune system, Black and Brown prisoners are already at a major disadvantage when arriving for their imprisonment.

When they do arrive, most receive healthcare services provided by for-profit companies rather than a public entity. This enables physicians and other clinicians who are not accountable to governmental entities but only to their companies at the helm of providing prisoner medical and psychiatric care.

For the incarcerated Black and Brown population, this leads to poorer health outcomes due to limited to no preventive screening, untreated symptoms, misdiagnosing and the potential for physicians to recommend different routes of care that are more profitable for their company even if it sacrifices the health of the patient.

Inequities in healthcare access for Black and Brown people are magnified in prison. A diabetes diagnosis requires controlling sugar intake to maintain health, but meals for prisoners tend to be low-quality, and exceptions are rarely made for prisoners with specific dietary needs.

Likewise, crowded housing conditions place the entire prison population at risk of infection, and most prisoners already have decreased immunity, putting them at higher risk of becoming ill.

Access to mental health services and treatment leaves much to be desired too. Since most prisoners are eventually released from prison, the pervasive lack of mental health treatment for psychiatrically disordered inmates raises the risk of them repeating the behavior that caused their arrest in the first place.

There are many more facets to this topic, all of which simply can’t be covered in a short blog post. To become more informed about this topic and more, purchase my book JUSTice for the Health of it, here and book me to speak at your upcoming civic or corporate group meeting, training or workshop.