THINKING ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH DYNAMICS IN THE FREE COMMUNITY AND THE PRISON

Prison organizations are not isolated institutions, thus social and ec onomic change in the wider society affects their internal dynamics. Th e authors explore how health conditions within lower socioeconomic seg ments of the population influence the health characteristics of prison er admissions, and demonstrate how health conditions within the wider society have major implications for prisoner health care systems. The effects of recent conservative crime control ideologies on institution al health care programs are also examined. The article concludes with the development of a research agenda on prisoner health care issues.