title: Correlates of Preincarceration Health Care Use Among Women and Men in Jail.
abstract: Although women and men in jails bear a burden of health problems, little is known about factors associated with their health care use. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of preincarceration health care use with 596 jail inmates. Descriptive statistics and correlates of participants' health care use were assessed. A year before incarceration, 54% of participants used an emergency room, 24% were hospitalized, and 39% used primary care. Correlates of health care use included gender, health insurance status, and drug dependence. For participants without mental health problems, use was associated with living in neighborhoods where a higher percentage of residents did not complete high school. Findings suggest individual and community factors that can be targeted by reentry programs to improve health care use after jail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, USA mramaswamy@kumc.edu.
authors.forename: Megha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramaswamy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Tyson
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pankey
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: health care use; jail inmates; neighborhood disadvantage