Women are the fastest growing segment of the correctional population in the United States. Most are imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses and property crimes. These women are disproportionately of color and low socioeconomic status, and often have endured lives of abuse, chaotic personal relations, and homelessness. The prime health challenges facing this population are substance abuse, mental health issues, communicable diseases, and poor reproductive health outcomes. An analysis of current and proposed correctional health services demonstrates the service gap between actual and idealized care for these women. Specific program components are introduced for the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A broad-based womens health curriculum, peer education, and increased provision of women-specific correctional health services are all suggested future directives. This project is highly relevant to public health, as it not only addresses the health disparities that exist between the general and correctional populations, but also because it seeks to ameliorate these conditions though a multifaceted health intervention.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-12072006-090223 |
| Date | 02 February 2007 |
| Creators | Altman, Rebecca Joanne |
| Contributors | Jessica Griffin Burke, PhD, Martha Ann Terry, PhD, Eleanor Feingold, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12072006-090223/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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