Why criminal justice should be part of fostering public health

Mass incarceration poses a threat to public health, fueling chronic disease and mental illness that physicians must address, according to a recent panel discussion. A physician’s duty Physicians have a duty to work for health justice for inmates, especially minors, said Nzinga Harrison, MD, a founder of Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform, an activist organization made up of academics, government officials, psychiatrists, neurologists and others. Dr. Harrison and other panelists explained their efforts on behalf of health justice at a discussion held by the AMA Minority Affairs Section during the 2016 AMA Annual Meeting in Chicago. Primary goals for justice reform Dr. Harrison said Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform invites physicians, medical students and the lay public to join in working for its primary objectives: Decriminalizing mental health and addictive disorders. Across the nation, people with severe mental illness are three times more likely to be in jail or prison than a mental health facility. Twenty percent of prison inmates have serious mental illness, and up to 60 percent have serious addictive problems, Dr. Harrison said.   Diverting at-risk youths from adult jails and prisons. Youths in adult jails are 36 times more likely to take their own lives than youths housed in juvenile facilities, Dr. Harrison said, and minors are far more likely to be victims of sexual assault in jails.   Providing adequate physical and mental hea...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news