{"id":61218,"date":"2009-01-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-15T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"\/gazette\/?p=61218"},"modified":"2009-01-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-15T05:00:00","slug":"inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/01\/inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Inmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care"},"content":{"rendered":"<header\n\tclass=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-article-header alignfull article-header is-style-square has-light-background has-colored-heading\"\n\tstyle=\" \"\n>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__content\">\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"article-header__category\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/science-technology\/\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\tScience &amp; Tech\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<h1 class=\"article-header__title wp-block-heading \">\n\t\tInmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__meta\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<address class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"author wp-block-post-author__name\">\n\t\tDavid Cecere\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-post-author__byline\">\n\t\t\tCambrdige Health Alliance\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<time class=\"article-header__date\" datetime=\"2009-01-15\">\n\t\t\tJanuary 15, 2009\t\t<\/time>\n\n\t\t<span class=\"article-header__reading-time\">\n\t\t\t3 min read\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-header__subheading wp-block-heading\">\n\t\t\t New study suggests that under-treatment of mental illness contributes to crime and incarceration \t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n\t\t<p>The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health care.<\/p>\n<p> The research, conducted by Harvard physicians at the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cha.harvard.edu\/\">Cambridge Health Alliance<\/a> and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hms.harvard.edu\">Harvard Medical School<\/a> (HMS) and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ajph.org\/cgi\/content\/abstract\/AJPH.2008.144279v1\">published<\/a> today by the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed data collected from U.S. inmates in the 2002 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/cocoon\/ICPSR\/SERIES\/00069.xml\">Survey of Inmates in Local Jails<\/a> and the 2004 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/NACJD\/sisfcf\/\">Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, more than 800,000 inmates \u2014 40 percent of the total prison and jail population \u2014 reported a chronic medical condition, an illness rate far higher than other Americans of similar age. More than 20 percent of these sick inmates in state prisons, 68.4 percent of jail inmates, and 13.9 percent in federal prisons had not seen a doctor or nurse since incarceration.<\/p>\n<p>The authors also analyzed mental illness care among inmates, both before and during incarceration. While about a quarter of inmates had a history of chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety, two-thirds of them were off treatment at the time of their arrest. Only after incarceration did most of these people receive treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Other key findings include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Compared to other Americans of the same age, the 1.2 million state prison inmates are 31 percent more likely to have asthma, 55 percent more likely to have diabetes, and 90 percent more likely to have suffered a heart attack. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to care was worst in local jails and best in federal prisons; one-quarter of jail inmates who suffered severe injuries received no medical attention, vs. 12 percent in state prisons and 8 percent at federal prisons. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inmates with medical problems such as diabetes that require drug treatment often had vital medications stopped after their incarceration, including one-quarter of chronically ill state prisoners and 36.5 percent of ill local jail inmates. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Study co-author <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/harvardscience.harvard.edu\/directory\/researchers\/stephanie-woolhandler\">Steffie Woolhandler<\/a>, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, stated, \u201cThe U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation. For many of them, treatment of their mental illness before their arrest might have prevented criminality and the staggering human and financial costs of incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA substantial percentage of inmates have serious medical needs yet many of them don\u2019t get even minimal care,\u201d said lead author Andrew Wilper, who currently teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. \u201cThese prisoners are denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Improved management of chronic conditions in prisons and jails may have important implications for community health and the reduction of health care disparities, explained Wilper. \u201cTwelve million Americans are released from incarceration each year. These individuals and the communities to which they return suffer, as many carry with them the costs of untreated illness and preventable disability. Inmates are overpaying their debt to society when they are <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105622744,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gz_ga_pageviews":24,"gz_ga_lastupdated":"2022-05-15 23:37","document_color_palette":null,"author":"David Cecere","affiliation":"Cambrdige Health Alliance","_category_override":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1387],"tags":[6912,14788,15922,28359,32197],"gazette-formats":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-61218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-cambridge-health-alliance","tag-government-and-public-policy","tag-harvard-medical-school","tag-public-health","tag-stephanie-woolhandler"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.0 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Inmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care &#8212; Harvard Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/01\/inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care &#8212; Harvard Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/01\/inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harvard Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-01-15T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"harvardgazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/01\/inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/01\/inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"harvardgazette\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/person\/78d028cf624923e92682268709ffbc4b\"},\"headline\":\"Inmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-01-15T05:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/01\/inmates-suffer-from-chronic-illness-poor-access-to-health-care\/\"},\"wordCount\":487,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Cambridge Health Alliance\",\"government and public policy\",\"Harvard Medical School\",\"Public Health\",\"Stephanie Woolhandler\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science &amp; 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Tech\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<h1 class=\"article-header__title wp-block-heading \">\n\t\tInmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__meta\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<address class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"author wp-block-post-author__name\">\n\t\tDavid Cecere\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-post-author__byline\">\n\t\t\tCambrdige Health Alliance\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<time class=\"article-header__date\" datetime=\"2009-01-15\">\n\t\t\tJanuary 15, 2009\t\t<\/time>\n\n\t\t<span class=\"article-header__reading-time\">\n\t\t\t3 min read\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-header__subheading wp-block-heading\">\n\t\t\t New study suggests that under-treatment of mental illness contributes to crime and incarceration \t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n"},"2":{"blockName":"core\/group","attrs":{"templateLock":false,"metadata":{"name":"Article content"},"align":"wide","layout":{"type":"constrained","justifyContent":"center"},"tagName":"div","lock":[],"className":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","ariaLabel":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\t\t<p>The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health care.<\/p>\n<p> The research, conducted by Harvard physicians at the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cha.harvard.edu\/\">Cambridge Health Alliance<\/a> and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hms.harvard.edu\">Harvard Medical School<\/a> (HMS) and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ajph.org\/cgi\/content\/abstract\/AJPH.2008.144279v1\">published<\/a> today by the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed data collected from U.S. inmates in the 2002 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/cocoon\/ICPSR\/SERIES\/00069.xml\">Survey of Inmates in Local Jails<\/a> and the 2004 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/NACJD\/sisfcf\/\">Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, more than 800,000 inmates \u2014 40 percent of the total prison and jail population \u2014 reported a chronic medical condition, an illness rate far higher than other Americans of similar age. More than 20 percent of these sick inmates in state prisons, 68.4 percent of jail inmates, and 13.9 percent in federal prisons had not seen a doctor or nurse since incarceration.<\/p>\n<p>The authors also analyzed mental illness care among inmates, both before and during incarceration. While about a quarter of inmates had a history of chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety, two-thirds of them were off treatment at the time of their arrest. Only after incarceration did most of these people receive treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Other key findings include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Compared to other Americans of the same age, the 1.2 million state prison inmates are 31 percent more likely to have asthma, 55 percent more likely to have diabetes, and 90 percent more likely to have suffered a heart attack. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to care was worst in local jails and best in federal prisons; one-quarter of jail inmates who suffered severe injuries received no medical attention, vs. 12 percent in state prisons and 8 percent at federal prisons. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inmates with medical problems such as diabetes that require drug treatment often had vital medications stopped after their incarceration, including one-quarter of chronically ill state prisoners and 36.5 percent of ill local jail inmates. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Study co-author <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/harvardscience.harvard.edu\/directory\/researchers\/stephanie-woolhandler\">Steffie Woolhandler<\/a>, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, stated, \u201cThe U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation. For many of them, treatment of their mental illness before their arrest might have prevented criminality and the staggering human and financial costs of incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA substantial percentage of inmates have serious medical needs yet many of them don\u2019t get even minimal care,\u201d said lead author Andrew Wilper, who currently teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. \u201cThese prisoners are denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Improved management of chronic conditions in prisons and jails may have important implications for community health and the reduction of health care disparities, explained Wilper. \u201cTwelve million Americans are released from incarceration each year. These individuals and the communities to which they return suffer, as many carry with them the costs of untreated illness and preventable disability. Inmates are overpaying their debt to society when they are <\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n\t\t<p>The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health care.<\/p>\n<p> The research, conducted by Harvard physicians at the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cha.harvard.edu\/\">Cambridge Health Alliance<\/a> and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hms.harvard.edu\">Harvard Medical School<\/a> (HMS) and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ajph.org\/cgi\/content\/abstract\/AJPH.2008.144279v1\">published<\/a> today by the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed data collected from U.S. inmates in the 2002 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/cocoon\/ICPSR\/SERIES\/00069.xml\">Survey of Inmates in Local Jails<\/a> and the 2004 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/NACJD\/sisfcf\/\">Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, more than 800,000 inmates \u2014 40 percent of the total prison and jail population \u2014 reported a chronic medical condition, an illness rate far higher than other Americans of similar age. More than 20 percent of these sick inmates in state prisons, 68.4 percent of jail inmates, and 13.9 percent in federal prisons had not seen a doctor or nurse since incarceration.<\/p>\n<p>The authors also analyzed mental illness care among inmates, both before and during incarceration. While about a quarter of inmates had a history of chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety, two-thirds of them were off treatment at the time of their arrest. Only after incarceration did most of these people receive treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Other key findings include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Compared to other Americans of the same age, the 1.2 million state prison inmates are 31 percent more likely to have asthma, 55 percent more likely to have diabetes, and 90 percent more likely to have suffered a heart attack. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to care was worst in local jails and best in federal prisons; one-quarter of jail inmates who suffered severe injuries received no medical attention, vs. 12 percent in state prisons and 8 percent at federal prisons. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inmates with medical problems such as diabetes that require drug treatment often had vital medications stopped after their incarceration, including one-quarter of chronically ill state prisoners and 36.5 percent of ill local jail inmates. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Study co-author <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/harvardscience.harvard.edu\/directory\/researchers\/stephanie-woolhandler\">Steffie Woolhandler<\/a>, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, stated, \u201cThe U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation. For many of them, treatment of their mental illness before their arrest might have prevented criminality and the staggering human and financial costs of incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA substantial percentage of inmates have serious medical needs yet many of them don\u2019t get even minimal care,\u201d said lead author Andrew Wilper, who currently teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. \u201cThese prisoners are denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Improved management of chronic conditions in prisons and jails may have important implications for community health and the reduction of health care disparities, explained Wilper. \u201cTwelve million Americans are released from incarceration each year. These individuals and the communities to which they return suffer, as many carry with them the costs of untreated illness and preventable disability. Inmates are overpaying their debt to society when they are <\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n\t\t<p>The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health care.<\/p>\n<p> The research, conducted by Harvard physicians at the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cha.harvard.edu\/\">Cambridge Health Alliance<\/a> and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hms.harvard.edu\">Harvard Medical School<\/a> (HMS) and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ajph.org\/cgi\/content\/abstract\/AJPH.2008.144279v1\">published<\/a> today by the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed data collected from U.S. inmates in the 2002 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/cocoon\/ICPSR\/SERIES\/00069.xml\">Survey of Inmates in Local Jails<\/a> and the 2004 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/NACJD\/sisfcf\/\">Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, more than 800,000 inmates \u2014 40 percent of the total prison and jail population \u2014 reported a chronic medical condition, an illness rate far higher than other Americans of similar age. More than 20 percent of these sick inmates in state prisons, 68.4 percent of jail inmates, and 13.9 percent in federal prisons had not seen a doctor or nurse since incarceration.<\/p>\n<p>The authors also analyzed mental illness care among inmates, both before and during incarceration. While about a quarter of inmates had a history of chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety, two-thirds of them were off treatment at the time of their arrest. Only after incarceration did most of these people receive treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Other key findings include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Compared to other Americans of the same age, the 1.2 million state prison inmates are 31 percent more likely to have asthma, 55 percent more likely to have diabetes, and 90 percent more likely to have suffered a heart attack. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to care was worst in local jails and best in federal prisons; one-quarter of jail inmates who suffered severe injuries received no medical attention, vs. 12 percent in state prisons and 8 percent at federal prisons. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inmates with medical problems such as diabetes that require drug treatment often had vital medications stopped after their incarceration, including one-quarter of chronically ill state prisoners and 36.5 percent of ill local jail inmates. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Study co-author <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/harvardscience.harvard.edu\/directory\/researchers\/stephanie-woolhandler\">Steffie Woolhandler<\/a>, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, stated, \u201cThe U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation. For many of them, treatment of their mental illness before their arrest might have prevented criminality and the staggering human and financial costs of incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA substantial percentage of inmates have serious medical needs yet many of them don\u2019t get even minimal care,\u201d said lead author Andrew Wilper, who currently teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. \u201cThese prisoners are denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Improved management of chronic conditions in prisons and jails may have important implications for community health and the reduction of health care disparities, explained Wilper. \u201cTwelve million Americans are released from incarceration each year. These individuals and the communities to which they return suffer, as many carry with them the costs of untreated illness and preventable disability. Inmates are overpaying their debt to society when they are <\/p>\n"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\">\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\">\n\n","\n\n<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n\t\t<p>The nation\u2019s prison and jail inmate population struggles with high rates of serious illness and poor access to care, according to the first nationwide study of inmate health and health care.<\/p>\n<p> The research, conducted by Harvard physicians at the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cha.harvard.edu\/\">Cambridge Health Alliance<\/a> and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hms.harvard.edu\">Harvard Medical School<\/a> (HMS) and <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ajph.org\/cgi\/content\/abstract\/AJPH.2008.144279v1\">published<\/a> today by the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed data collected from U.S. inmates in the 2002 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/cocoon\/ICPSR\/SERIES\/00069.xml\">Survey of Inmates in Local Jails<\/a> and the 2004 <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icpsr.umich.edu\/NACJD\/sisfcf\/\">Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, more than 800,000 inmates \u2014 40 percent of the total prison and jail population \u2014 reported a chronic medical condition, an illness rate far higher than other Americans of similar age. More than 20 percent of these sick inmates in state prisons, 68.4 percent of jail inmates, and 13.9 percent in federal prisons had not seen a doctor or nurse since incarceration.<\/p>\n<p>The authors also analyzed mental illness care among inmates, both before and during incarceration. While about a quarter of inmates had a history of chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety, two-thirds of them were off treatment at the time of their arrest. Only after incarceration did most of these people receive treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Other key findings include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Compared to other Americans of the same age, the 1.2 million state prison inmates are 31 percent more likely to have asthma, 55 percent more likely to have diabetes, and 90 percent more likely to have suffered a heart attack. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Access to care was worst in local jails and best in federal prisons; one-quarter of jail inmates who suffered severe injuries received no medical attention, vs. 12 percent in state prisons and 8 percent at federal prisons. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inmates with medical problems such as diabetes that require drug treatment often had vital medications stopped after their incarceration, including one-quarter of chronically ill state prisoners and 36.5 percent of ill local jail inmates. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Study co-author <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/harvardscience.harvard.edu\/directory\/researchers\/stephanie-woolhandler\">Steffie Woolhandler<\/a>, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, stated, \u201cThe U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any other nation. For many of them, treatment of their mental illness before their arrest might have prevented criminality and the staggering human and financial costs of incarceration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA substantial percentage of inmates have serious medical needs yet many of them don\u2019t get even minimal care,\u201d said lead author Andrew Wilper, who currently teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine. \u201cThese prisoners are denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Improved management of chronic conditions in prisons and jails may have important implications for community health and the reduction of health care disparities, explained Wilper. \u201cTwelve million Americans are released from incarceration each year. These individuals and the communities to which they return suffer, as many carry with them the costs of untreated illness and preventable disability. Inmates are overpaying their debt to society when they are <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n"}},"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59499,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2006\/01\/less-than-half-of-us-health-care-workers-get-flu-shots\/","url_meta":{"origin":61218,"position":0},"title":"Less than half of U.S. health care workers get flu shots","author":"harvardgazette","date":"January 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Steffie Woolhandler, Harvard Medical School associate professor of medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance, and colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles analyzed data from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey and found that less than half of U.S. health care workers get flu shots. From a nationally representative sample\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":100797,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/01\/ceramics-program-donates-mural\/","url_meta":{"origin":61218,"position":1},"title":"Ceramics Program donates mural","author":"harvardgazette","date":"January 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ceramics Program at the Office for the Arts at Harvard recently donated a handmade mural to the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campus &amp; Community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campus &amp; Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/012512_murals_480_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/012512_murals_480_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/012512_murals_480_605.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60693,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2008\/01\/those-least-needy-most-likely-to-get-free-drug-samples\/","url_meta":{"origin":61218,"position":2},"title":"Those least needy most likely to get free drug samples","author":"harvardgazette","date":"January 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Most free drug\u00a0 samples are\u00a0 not used to ease\u00a0 the burden of the poor or the uninsured, but rather go to those most able to pay for their prescriptions, according to a\u00a0 study by\u00a0 physicians from Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical\u00a0\u00a0 School. The study, which is the first to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Health&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":121821,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/10\/hms-faculty-member-wins-young-leader-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":61218,"position":3},"title":"HMS faculty member wins Young Leader Award","author":"harvardgazette","date":"October 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced that Somava Stout of Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance is one of 10 winners of its first-ever RWJF Young Leader Award.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campus &amp; Community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campus &amp; Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87743,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2011\/08\/havens-professor-of-psychology-dies\/","url_meta":{"origin":61218,"position":4},"title":"Havens, professor of psychology, dies","author":"harvardgazette","date":"August 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Leston Havens, professor of psychology emeritus at Harvard Medical School, died on July 29 after an extended illness.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campus &amp; Community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campus &amp; Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":124727,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/11\/help-for-cambridge-youths\/","url_meta":{"origin":61218,"position":5},"title":"Help for Cambridge youths","author":"harvardgazette","date":"November 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Harvard Medical School faculty members at the Cambridge Health Alliance lend a hand, in partnership with the Cambridge Police Department, the schools, and youth services agencies, to identify potentially troubled youths and divert them into structured activities and mental health programs.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Campus &amp; Community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Campus &amp; Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/112812_barrett_039_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/112812_barrett_039_605.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/112812_barrett_039_605.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105622744"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61218"},{"taxonomy":"format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gazette-formats?post=61218"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=61218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}