The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored now more than ever how incarceration and health are inextricably linked. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has included incarceration among 35 illustrative measures being used to track progress toward building a Culture of Health in America. To further explore incarceration as a key measure of health in the United States, on April 2, the Culture of Health blog published a timely post by RWJF’s Carolyn Miller and Doug Yeung of RAND. The post looks at the important effects of incarceration on health and health equity for prisoners, families and communities.
The post also includes a reference and link to a recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health, supported by RWJF, that sheds light on new research that broadens our understanding of how incarceration negatively influences possibilities of hope, happiness, sense of security, and other critical components of well-being.