Addressing the Unique Healthcare Needs of Justice-Involved Individuals through Medical Education
Friday, October 13, 2023
9:30 AM – 10:45 AM ET
Location: Chasseur (Third Floor)
Of the medical schools that offer education on carceral-based health, curricula vary widely and not all include training in correctional facilities. Previous surveys indicate 23% of U.S. MD programs have explicit criminal justice and health curricula.1 Students at a medical school lacking a carceral-based health curriculum were surveyed on their perceived preparedness to care for justice-involved patients and preferences for curricular reform. Results indicated while 90% of clinical students encountered justice-involved individuals during their rotations, 97% of clinical and 98% of preclinical students felt ill-prepared to provide care to justice-involved individuals. Notably, 97.6% of respondents reported a need for carceral medicine in their medical education. This data has been used to design an interdisciplinary panel and elective rotation to educate medical students on the nuances of providing healthcare to justice-involved individuals and the unique health disparities these patients face. The panel will include patients who were formerly incarcerated, physicians that work closely with this population, law faculty, and department of corrections employees. The elective will include modules focused on life inside a correctional facility, ethics and social considerations of carceral health, and receiving physical and mental healthcare in correctional facilities. It will also offer students the chance to rotate through various correctional facilities to gain clinical exposure in this setting. This presentation aims to create a meaningful discussion regarding the health inequities surrounding justice-involved individuals and the need for carceral-based medical education.