This striking correlation of quick and substantial reduction of mortality among individuals with a mental illness in association with the reduction and subsequent ban of smoking suggests that smoking may play a major role in the reduced life span of persons with mental illness.
More than half of the state prisons in the United States outsource health care. While most states contract with private companies, a small number of states have reached out to their health science universities to meet their needs for health care of prisoners. New Jersey is the most recent state to form such an agreement. This article discusses the benefits of such a model for New Jersey's Department of Corrections and for New Jersey's health sciences university, the Rutgers University, formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The benefits for both institutions should encourage other states to participate in such affiliations.
Academic health centers (AHCs), particularly those that are publicly funded institutions, have as their mission the treatment of disadvantaged populations, the training of the next generation of clinicians, and the development and dissemination of new knowledge to reduce the burden of disease and improve the health of individuals and populations. Incarcerated populations have the most prevalent and acute disease burden and health disparities in the United States, even in comparison with inner-city populations. Yet, only a small proportion of AHCs have reached out to incarcerated populations to fulfill their mission. Those AHCs that have partnered with correctional facilities have overcome concerns about the value and popularity of "training behind bars"; the cost, liability, and pragmatics of caring for a medically complicated population; and the viability of correctional health research and extramural research funding. They have done so to great benefit to patients, students, and faculty. Partnering with correctional facilities to provide health care offers opportunities for AHCs to fulfill their core missions of clinical service, education, and research, while also enhancing their financial stability, to the benefit of all. In this Commentary, the authors discuss, based on their experiences, these concerns, how existing partnerships have overcome them, and the benefits of such relationships to both AHCs and correctional facilities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.