272765 Responding to solitary confinement: The prisoner hunger strike

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 3:20 PM - 3:45 PM

Azadeh Zohrabi, JD , Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, University of California, San Francisco, CA
The use of long term solitary confinement has severe medical and psychiatric health consequences for the tens of thousands of prisoners who are isolated in prisons across the country. These consequences present a public health issue because the prisoners who are subject to solitary confinement will eventually be returned to their communities, harmed by their incarceration and isolation. The author will summarize current research findings in these areas, with an emphasis on the impact of long term solitary confinement for communities from which the prisoners come and to which they return.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Advocacy for health and health education
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the hazards of solitary confinement. Identify the public health impact on the communities from where prisoners come to where they ultimately return. Explain possible alternatives that can maintain safety in prisons without harming people in prison, their families and the community.

Keywords: Human Rights, Prison

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Soros Fellow studying solitary confinement practices; I also serve as an advocate for a prisoner in solitary confinement.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3357.0: Invited Session: Multi-Year Solitary Confinement in California and the Prisoner Hunger Strikes of 2011-12