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Abstract: 

It is easy to dismiss the needs of incarcerated women. After all, it is often said: they broke the law, they deserve to be punished for their crimes, and why should they receive care and treatment that honest citizens are often denied? It has also often been noted that, as Dostoyevsky said, the degree of civilization possessed by a society can be judged by its prisons. What does our treatment of women inmates tell us about our civilization? Women prisoners have health care needs that are distinct from those of both male prisoners and women in the general population (Braithwaite, et.al., 2005). The problems that the women identified centered around the difficulties they experienced in getting their health concerns heard, acknowledged, and provided for behind bars.

Keywords: medical, dental, mental health, pregnancy, prenatal care, nutrition, screening, prevention, staffing, prescriptions, hygiene

Affiliations:  1: St. Anselm College; 2: St. Anselm College.