Prison Issues in the Criminal Justice Field : Medical/Mental Health

Research Claims a Cure for Hepatitis C

cgordon — Wed, 23 May 2007 16:58:00 GMT

Science Daily has released an article outlining a research study done on hepatitis C conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. The study, headed up by Mitchell Shiffman, M.D., a professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University Shool of Medicine, determined that "Nearly all -- 99 percent -- of patients with hepatitis C who were treated successfully with peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, had no detectable virus up to seven years later." This is ground breaking research and evidence given that "The CDC estimates the number of hepatitis C-related deaths could increase to 38,000 annually by the year 2010, surpassing annual HIV/AIDS deaths." Thanks to Michael Connelly at Corrections Sentencing for bringing this story to our attention.

Prostitution on the Street and Prostitution in Prisons-Same Dynamics?

Peggy L. Ritchie — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:52:00 GMT

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the U.S Department of Justice just published its second edition of Street Prostitution. This Guide provides insights into how communities can address key problems such as:

Harm and its Spillover Effect
Economic Concerns
Civil Rights Concerns
Factors Contributing to Street Prostitution such as: Pimps, Drugs, Clients
How to Deter and Target Prostitutes and Their Clients
Public Health Issues

How do you manage this special population in your prisons?

Do they contribute to HIV/Aids in prisons?

Have you developed any special programs or research that you can share?

Do any of these concepts apply to prostitution in our prisons? Male or female?

Share your thoughts on this unique sub-population within our prisons. Thanks.

Senate Passes Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act

Peggy L. Ritchie — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:59:00 GMT

The Senate passed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (S.3678) on Tuesday. Click here for the basics:

Increasing Public Awareness
Establishment of a nationwide public health Information technology network
Vaccine Tracking and distribution
Plans for coordination of public health and bio safety

Remember to check out other blogs on this topic and the National Institute of Corrections page on Pandemic Preparedness.

It's in the Mail: Anthrax, What You Need to Know

Peggy L. Ritchie — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:33:00 GMT

The National Institute of Justice published its Summer TechBeat . A main article called: "It's in the Mail" provides key information on What you Need to Know About Anthrax (see page 3 of the entire Techbeat).

Additional links on Anthrax: Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Note: This Techbeat also has an article on "Principles of Forensic DNA", go to the Presidents DNA Initiative for more information. Another source? "Simple, Rapid and Accurate Quantitation of Human DNA" by Buel.

Seamless Response to Emergencies: Best Practices for Pandemic Flu Launched

Peggy L. Ritchie — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:00:00 GMT

The National Governors Association (NGA) has launched a new document from its Best Practices website for Governors and Senior State Officials: "Preparing for a Pandemic Influenza: A Primer for Governors and Senior State Officials".

Learn About What Works
Get Assistance
Receive Up-to-date Information
Learn About Emerging National Trends

How can this assist your agency? Please share your plans with others by attaching a file to our blog. You can also access pandemic information on the National Institute of Corrections website.

Just Published: BJS report on Mental Health Statistics in Jails/Prisons

Peggy L. Ritchie — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:25:00 GMT

The Bureau of Justice Statistics just released the Special Report on "Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates", September 2006.

The midyear 2005 statistics indicate more than half of all prison and jail inmates had a mental health problem. The numbers are 705,600 in state prisons, 70,200 in Federal prisons and 479,900 in local jails.

Mental health definitions were based on: a recent history or symptoms of a mental health problem. The charts include the major DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition) symptoms. Check it out. Do the percentages match your statistics?

Do you want to know how to integrate surveillance data on infectious diseases? And more...

Peggy L. Ritchie — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:58:00 GMT

Welcome back and I hope you had a great holiday weekend.. Our Weekly Digest includes:

Managing your health care data for disease reporting

NIC's Service Plan for 2006-2007 is released...
"The Criminal Effect of Meth on Communities: A 2006 Survey of U.S. Counties" from the National Association of Counties
Michigan's Prisoner ReEntry Initiative Extensive, get the details...
NEW from NIC: Gender-Responsive Strategies for Women Offenders-Women's Justice Services in Cook County, Illinois