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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Michelle D. Hoersch, MS and Amy K. Hennessy, MPH Candidate. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health - Region V, 233 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601, 312-353-8122, mhoersch@osophs.dhhs.gov
The Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the government's champion and focal point for women's health issues, and works to redress inequities in research, health care services, and education that have historically placed the health of women at risk. The Region V Women’s Prisons Project is a regional initiative that is part of the national Office on Women’s Health’s interest in issues pertaining to incarcerated women. Women are being incarcerated at an unprecedented rate, about 180% the rate of men. Roughly 1 out of 109 women in the US is under care, custody or control by correctional facilities. Women in correctional facilities suffer disproportionately from substance abuse, violence, sexual abuse and poverty. These women have special health care needs including drug treatment and mental health services. Also, because incarcerated women tend to be the main caregiver to their children, women’s prisons struggle with how to provide appropriate space and programming for incarcerated women with children. All states in Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota have women’s prisons. We are conducting an assets-based health assessment of women’s prisons in Region V by identifying model programs within each prison. The goal of the Region V Women’s Prison Project is multifold and includes: improving gender sensitive programming within the women’s prisons in Region V, facilitating dialogue pertaining to incarcerated women across the states in Region V, and improving the discourse between public health and corrections.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Women, Prison
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.