title: Jails, public health, and generalizability.
abstract: This article outlines and discusses five categories of information about individual jails that should be considered before making general statements about jails. These are (a) the process by which individuals come to and are processed through the jail, (b) the size of the jail, (c) the region of the country where the jail is situated, (d) classification/assessment techniques, and (e) architecture and supervision styles. It is hoped that this discussion will generate a better understanding of the complexity of jail systems across the nation and help public health professionals better target their research, programs, and policies directed at the jail/community health nexus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA. rhpotter@mail.ucf.edu
authors.forename: Roberto Hugh
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Potter
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D057766:Policy; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011635:Public Health Administration; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States