How the Criminal Justice System Can Contribute to Eliminating Inequities in Healthcare at Two Pivotal Times: While Incarcerated, and During Reentry into the Community

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand, from the perspective of the jail administrator, the elements required for a comprehensive healthcare program for those incarcerated and during reentry into the community. Research confirms that a comprehensive, replicable healthcare model for services while incarcerated, and a reentry program that recognizes both the medical and social needs of the incarcerated are beneficial for the individual, and the community. In this qualitative descriptive study, the intention was to add to the body of knowledge; the elements required to provide comprehensive medical and social services while incarcerated and when transitioning back into the community, including the broad collective challenges that exist with implementation and sustaining these efforts. The topic was explored through open-ended inquiry utilizing a theoretical framework of life course theory. Three themes emerged from the data derived from the semi-structured interviews with six jail administrators of short-term correctional facilities in New York State: (a) bare minimalism, (b) societal truths, and (c) resource realities. These three themes propel this study’s implications and suggestions for practice. The bare minimalist approach to providing healthcare services while incarcerated and during reentry into the community is further exacerbated by societal truths of righteousness justified through resource realities. This research yielded recommendations for further research to ensure social welfare is maximized and policy revisions are informed by social justice, and lastly, improved practice be informed by a synthesis of available evidence