Engaged scholarship at the Brown University School of Public Health: designing education for better prisoner and community health.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the course, "Designing Education for Better Prisoner and Community Health," which provided students with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to build real-world health education materials for persons who are criminal justice involved.

Design/methodology/approach: A multiphase engaged scholarship course was designed and implemented through the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island, USA.

Findings: Students collaborated closely with instructors, subject matter experts and affected community members to develop highly tailored health education projects across six topic areas.

Fatherhood, Reproductive Health, and Incarcerated Men: A Qualitative Study With Implications for Reentry.

It is important to understand how incarcerated men conceptualize fatherhood for reentry. Sixteen interviews explored attitudes and feelings about parenthood, family planning, and challenges and strengths regarding fatherhood. Transcriptions were analyzed for themes using open coding.

A Budget Impact Analysis of Newly Available Hepatitis C Therapeutics and the Financial Burden on a State Correctional System.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection continues to disproportionately affect incarcerated populations. New HCV drugs present opportunities and challenges to address HCV in corrections. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of the treatment costs for HCV infection in a state correctional population through a budget impact analysis comparing differing treatment strategies.

Integrating correctional and community health care for formerly incarcerated people who are eligible for Medicaid.

Under the Affordable Care Act, up to thirteen million adults have the opportunity to obtain health insurance through an expansion of the Medicaid program. A great deal of effort is currently being devoted to eligibility verification, outreach, and enrollment. We look beyond these important first-phase challenges to consider what people who are transitioning back to the community after incarceration need to receive effective care.

Medicaid expansion: considerations for states regarding newly eligible jail-involved individuals.

The expansion of Medicaid eligibility to Americans with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level should greatly increase access to coverage and services for people recently released from jail and, thus, improve health outcomes and reduce recidivism in this population. The population is disproportionately male, minority, and poor; suffers from high rates of mental and substance abuse disorders; and is expected to make up a substantial portion of the Medicaid expansion population. To ensure connections to needed services after release from jail, states could help inmates determine their eligibility and enroll in Medicaid; take advantage of federal grants to automate systems that determine eligibility; and include a robust array of behavioral health services in Medicaid benefit packages.

Medicaid policies and practices in US state prison systems.

Medicaid is an important source of health care coverage for prison-involved populations. From 2011 to 2012, we surveyed state prison system (SPS) policies affecting Medicaid enrollment during incarceration and upon release; 42 of 50 SPSs participated. Upon incarceration, Medicaid benefits were suspended in 9 (21.

Incarceration, community health, and racial disparities.

Several recent studies have shown that the racial disparities in U.S. mortality nearly disappear in prisons.