ABSTRACT
This chapter examines health care disparities across the criminal justice system, particularly correctional facilities. It discusses disparities in incarceration for racial and ethnic minorities and the health problems they have when entering the criminal justice system. There is a discussion of the direct and indirect effects of imprisonment on future health outcomes. The chapter explores the role of probation and parole supervision in promoting offender health care and treatment postrelease. It outlines the most pressing health care and treatment issues of justice-involved women, racial and ethnic minorities, and the intersection of both. Inequalities in health care provision, defined as the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of physical or mental illness or injury, are present within the general population. The chapter concludes with an examination of the organizational approaches to improve the collaboration of criminal justice administrators and community health care providers.
