Prisoners' utilization of health services during 28 days of confinement
Description
Statement of the Problem: The purpose of this study was to determine if health status as perceived by the prisoners at the time of their incarceration in a local jail could be used as a predictor of their utilization of medical services during the following twenty-eight (28) days of confinement. The ability to predict who would utilize medical services, and to what extent, could assist medical personnel in projecting and planning for these needs. This was especially important in local jails where budgets were usually low, the number of persons being confined was large, and the period of incarceration was short. Can the utilization of health services be predicted? Can perceived health status at the beginning of incarceration be the predictor? If so then an inmate population could be studied, and a medical program that was efficient, effective, and dynamic could be established. The ability to identify consumers of health services early could facilitate planning Method and Material: Data was gathered from the medical and correctional records at the Jefferson Parish Community Correctional Center. The required information was transferred from the records to data sheets without identifying the inmate. Only inmates incarcerated for a minimum of 28 days were included in the study. The utilization of medical services was determined by the number of sick call visits. The study population consisted of 382 cases Findings and Conclusions: It was found that females made significantly more sick calls than males (almost 2:1). Whites made considerably more sick call visits than non-whites. Educational level did not seem to be a factor in the utilization of health services. In general a positive response to almost any medical history question was associated with a significant increased number of sick call visits being made. There appeared to be a relationship between the number of health problems identified and the number of sick call visits made. Positive responses to the questions regarding current illness, currently under treatment, and a history of mental illness were statistically significant when compared to the mean number of sick call visits made. Those inmates found to have at least one (1) abnormality on physical examination made significantly more sick call visits than those with none. When the physician felt that an inmate had a medical problem, regardless of how the inmate perceived their health status, the inmate made significantly more sick call visits by an estimated 2:1. The same trend applied when medical assistants felt that an inmate had a health problem It is clear for the outcome of this study that these are factors which could be used as predictors of the utilization of health services for an inmate population. These factors, medical history questions, could be asked at any correctional facility, and help medical personnel identify that segment of the inmate population that would utilize medical services more. With early identification, medical programs could operate more effectively and efficiently