Cover of the Journal for Correctional Health Care

Compassionate Release: A Call to Social Workers

Published: | Author: Mary-Louise Parkkila, Stephanie Prost, Stephen Tripodi

An increase in the number of older people incarcerated in prisons has given rise to increased costs of correctional health care. Despite the many benefits of compassionate release, it is rarely used. Citing barriers at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels, we contend that social workers are uniquely suited to increase the number of people released through this mechanism owing to a unique knowledge and skill set.

Category: Social Work, Incarceration, Research
quality of life

The Quality of Life Perception Gap in Prison Health Care Settings

Published: | Author: Stephanie Prost, Stephen Tripodi, Jeffrey Lacasse

Peer caregivers are specially-trained incarcerated persons who support the needs of patients in correctional health care settings. Their role is of particular importance in light of the growing population of older adult prisoners with complex health problems in U.S. prisons. The purpose of the current study was to examine the disparity between patient and peer caregiver ratings of patient quality of life in a sample of correctional health dyads (n = 52) in a state prison system.

Category: Well-Being