Provision of health care services related to substance use disorder in southern U.S. jails.

Introduction: The U.S. jail population has more than tripled since the 1980s, and today, one out of every three incarcerated individuals is being held in a county or city jail.

The role of detention officers in the provision of jail healthcare in the Southeastern United States.

Jailed individuals have considerable healthcare needs, yet jail healthcare resources are often limited. We interviewed staff from 34 Southeastern jails about strategies that jails use to deliver healthcare. One of the most prominent strategies was the use of detention officers to provide or facilitate the provision of healthcare.

"You can get a couple of ramen noodle packs for a Buspar": A qualitative examination of medication access, policy, and procedures in southern jails.

Background: Jails in the United States are required to provide health care to the over 10 million people entering jails each year, a significant portion of whom need medications. Yet little is known about the processes by which medications are prescribed, obtained, and administered to incarcerated persons in jails.

Objective: To describe medication access, policy, and procedures in jails.

Jail Health Care in the Southeastern United States From Entry to Release.

Unlabelled: Policy Points As a consequence of mass incarceration and related social inequities in the United States, jails annually incarcerate millions of people who have profound and expensive health care needs. Resources allocated for jail health care are scarce, likely resulting in treatment delays, limited access to care, lower-quality care, unnecessary use of emergency medical services (EMS) and emergency departments (EDs), and limited services to support continuity of care upon release. Potential policy solutions include alternative models for jail health care oversight and financing, and providing alternatives to incarceration, particularly for those with mental illness and substance use disorders.