ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2017
Medical homelessness and candidacy: women transiting between prison and community health care.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding access to sexual and reproductive health in general practice using an adapted Candidacy Framework: a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Pooled it
- Does criminal justice stigma affect health and health care utilization? A systematic review of public health and medical literature.International journal of prisoner health · 2020Pooled it
- Health service brokerage to improve primary care access for populations experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage: a systematic review and realist synthesis.BMC health services research · 2019Pooled it
- A scoping review of how the candidacy framework has been used in research on access to general practice.Journal of health services research & policy · 2026Article
- "My story is good… It's not like that for all": Uneven access to contraception among incarcerated women in New South Wales, Australia.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Article
- Correlates of recovery capital among women in jails: Leveraging a dimensional recovery framework.Addiction research & theory · 2025Article
- Determinants of access to primary healthcare for formerly incarcerated women transitioning into the community: a systematic review of the literature.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Toxoplasmosis Behind Bars: One Health Approach on Serosurvey Dynamics and Associated Risk Factors for Women Inmates, Correctional Officers, and In-Prison Feral Cats.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Women sleeping rough: The health, social and economic costs of homelessness.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Experiences, perceptions and expectations of health services amongst marginalized populations in urban Australia: A meta-ethnographic review of the literature.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Review
- Availability of informal social support and the impact on health services utilization among women in community corrections who engage in substance use and risky sexual behavior: New York City, 2009-2012.Health & justice · 2022Article
- 'You're setting a lot of people up for failure': what formerly incarcerated women would tell healthcare decision makers.Health & justice · 2022Article
- The needs and experiences of mothers while in prison and post-release: a rapid review and thematic synthesis.Health & justice · 2021Article
- Reproductive healthcare in prison: A qualitative study of women's experiences and perspectives in Ontario, Canada.PloS one · 2021Article
- The evolution of health care in the Texas correctional system and the impact of COVID-19.Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) · 2020Review
- Perceptions of access to oral care at a community dental hygiene clinic for women involved with the criminal justice system.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2020Article
- A need-based, multi-level, cross-sectoral framework to explain variations in satisfaction of care needs among people living with dementia.BMC health services research · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWomen in contact with the prison system have high health needs. Short periods in prison and serial incarcerations are common. Examination of their experiences of health care both in prison and in the community may assist in better supporting their wellbeing and, ultimately, decrease their risk of returning to prison.
methodsWe interviewed women in prisons in Sydney, Australia, using pre-release and post-release interviews. We undertook thematic analysis of the combined interviews, considering them as continuing narratives of their healthcare experiences. We further reviewed the findings using the theoretical lens of candidacy to generate additional insights on healthcare access.
resultsSixty-nine interviews were conducted with 40 women pre-release and 29 of these post-release. Most had histories of substance misuse. Women saw prison as an opportunity to address neglected health problems, but long waiting lists impeded healthcare delivery. Both in prison and in the community, the dual stigmas of substance misuse and being a prisoner could lead to provider judgements that their claims to care were not legitimate. They feared they would be blocked from care even if seriously ill. Family support, self-efficacy, assertiveness, overcoming substance misuse, compliance with health system rules and transitional care programs increased their personal capacity to access health care.
conclusionsFor women in transition between prison and community, healthcare access could be experienced as 'medical homelessness' in which women felt caught in a perpetual state of waiting and exclusion during cycles of prison- and community-based care. Their healthcare experiences were characterized by ineffectual attempts to access care, transient relationships with healthcare providers, disrupted medical management and a fear that stigma would prevent candidacy to health care even in the event of serious illness. Consideration of the vulnerabilities and likely points of exclusion for women in contact with the criminal justice system will assist in increasing healthcare access for this marginalised population.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.