Public health solutions, providing resources and services to the incarcerated population is a more efficient method of decreasing the US prison population, and increases the likelihood those exiting the system can successfully integrate into communities.
In 2024, affiliate assistant professor Marc Stern, MD, MPH enlisted HSPop professor and department chair Megha Ramaswamy, PhD, MPH and UW Medicine’s Lara Strick, MD, MSc to collaborate on a Comment for The Lancet’s US Presidential Briefing Book. As a former Assistant Secretary for Health Services for the Washington State Department of Corrections, Stern was asked by The Lancet to present a public health framework for carceral health.
The collaboration was borne of HSPop’s Incarceration and Health in Washington Community of Practice. The 3-prong approach offers public health solutions focused on preventing incarceration by treating mental health issues and substance use disorder before they lead to incarceration, reducing the impact of disease, and providing better health services within the prison system. With nearly 95% of incarcerated individuals exiting the system and being reintroduced to their communities, providing the care needed in the system decreases the likelihood of them reentering the carceral system.
The cost of incarceration is far greater than the cost of treating mental illness, substance use disorder and other health-related issues, in turn leading to reduction in crime and engagement in the employment sector.
A video summary of the team’s conclusions is available to view below.