The Impact of Incarceration on the Health of Female Inmates
Description
The purpose of this study was to evaluate how incarceration impacts the health of female inmates. Healthcare professionals and employees at the Riverside Correctional Facility, a women’s prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were interviewed in order to ascertain their perspective on the health of the female inmates they serve. A total of six employees, identified as “respondents” were interviewed and, in addition to these interviews, a tour of the facility was provided. This study used a phenomenological design and the results were analyzed through grounded theory, in which responses were broken down into several codes and themes were then identified from those codes. The analysis of the interviews found that healthcare, empowerment, and drug use were the main themes identified in relation to the health impacts of incarcerated women. The healthcare provided at the facility has a significant impact on the health of the inmates, because most of the inmates struggle with some form of health issue, such as a mental illness, untreated malady, or drug dependency. Empowerment was found to be the most important factor in motivating women to obtain an education, employment skills, and employment once they reenter society. All respondents identified drug use as the most profound health issue at the facility, in addition to acting as the largest barrier for women to successfully reenter society and attain stable employment.
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2020-05
Agent
- Author (aut): Braunstein, Zoe
- Thesis director: Savaglio, Lauren
- Committee member: Davis-Strong, Devi
- Contributor (ctb): College of Health Solutions
- Contributor (ctb): Barrett, The Honors College