Prison healthcare

Prison healthcare is the medical specialty in which healthcare providers care for people in prisons and jails. Prison healthcare is a relatively new specialty that developed alongside the adaption of prisons into modern disciplinary institutions. Enclosed prison populations are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, AIDS or HIV, and Covid-19. Incarcerated people also have higher rates of chronic medical conditions than the general population including arthritis, asthma, hypertension, cervical cancer, and mental health issues such as depression, mania, anxiety, substance use disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many environmental factors specific to jails or prisons also pose a significant health risk to incarcerated people, including solitary confinement, overcrowding, exposure to extremes of temperature due to lack of air conditioning or heating, noise pollution, lack of privacy, and lack of ability to make medical decisions (lack of autonomy). These conditions link prison healthcare to issues of public health, preventive healthcare, and hygiene. Prisoner dependency on provided healthcare raises unique problems in medical ethics.