Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health: Infectious Disease and the Correctional Environment

Date of Review: April, 2019

This resource, ‘Infectious Disease and the Correctional Environment’, is an online 46 minute video lecture about the prevalence and risks of certain infectious diseases in prisons and argues that given the high burden of these, management of infectious disease in corrections is a public health issue. The risks described include crowded living conditions (inadequate ventilation and close quarters); immunosuppression; behaviors both before and during incarceration. Blood-borne pathogens; STIs; particularly hepatitis C; HIV; and tuberculosis. Mitigating transmission risks including decreasing the prevalence of rape; clean needle exchanges and sharp sterilization for homemade tattoos. The ability to ensure medication adherence and strategies to do so that empower patients to complete treatment post-release are also taught. This is a voice-over PowerPoint video and could be used in pre-clinical years in an Infectious Disease curriculum or health disparities equity curriculum. It would be nice to have access to the PowerPoint slides to give or modify the lecture oneself. Likely it would be supplementary material or could be used in a flipped classroom format but the facilitator would have to create additional required course material. This module is part of an online student curriculum aimed at teaching medical students about criminal justice and guidelines on caring for justice-involved patients. Specific screening, management, treatment and advocacy approaches are described in the seven 30-40 minute correctional health curriculum’s video lectures, which is part of an offering from the ACCJH. The ACCJH built this curriculum with partners from the University of Massachusetts, Harvard and Cornell with the goal of education and inspiring students to become advocates. — Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

strick@uw.edu

Institution:

University of Washington

Source of the Curriculum/Resource:

Online

Relevant Specialty:

Family and Community Medicine, Pediatrics