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Health Disparities and the Criminal Justice System: An Agenda for Further Research and Action

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Abstract

Although racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be involved with the criminal justice system than whites in the USA, critical scientific gaps exist in our understanding of the relationship between the criminal justice system and the persistence of racial/ethnic health disparities. Individuals engaged with the criminal justice system are at risk for poor health outcomes. Furthermore, criminal justice involvement may have direct or indirect effects on health and health care. Racial/ethnic health disparities may be exacerbated or mitigated at several stages of the criminal justice system. Understanding and addressing the health of individuals involved in the criminal justice system is one component of a comprehensive strategy to reduce population health disparities and improve the health of our urban communities.

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Acknowledgments

We appreciate the thoughtful review of Thomas Denberg, MD, Ph.D. of earlier drafts of this manuscript. Dr. Binswanger is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Physician Faculty Scholars Program, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1R03DA029448-01), and by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ K12 HS019464). Dr. Redmond is supported by grant number T32HP10251 from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Hicks is supported by the Health Disparities program of Harvard Catalyst | The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (NIH Grant #1 UL1 RR 025758-01 and financial contributions from participating institutions). Dr. Steiner is supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (Grant # 1 U01 HL079208). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services or the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine and the Division of Substance Dependence, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine Center, Aurora, CO, USA

    Ingrid A. Binswanger

  2. Community Health Services, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, CO, USA

    Ingrid A. Binswanger

  3. Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Nicole Redmond

  4. Divisions of General Medicine and Primary Care and Medical Communication, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Nicole Redmond

  5. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Nicole Redmond

  6. Institute for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente, Denver, CO, USA

    John F. Steiner

  7. Division of Hospital Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MA, USA

    LeRoi S. Hicks

  8. Division of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    LeRoi S. Hicks

  9. Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    LeRoi S. Hicks

  10. Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

    Ingrid A. Binswanger

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  1. Ingrid A. Binswanger
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  2. Nicole Redmond
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  4. LeRoi S. Hicks
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Correspondence to Ingrid A. Binswanger.

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Binswanger, I.A., Redmond, N., Steiner, J.F. et al. Health Disparities and the Criminal Justice System: An Agenda for Further Research and Action. J Urban Health 89, 98–107 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9614-1

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