Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Int J Prison Health. 2023 Mar 16;19(1):95-108. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-09-2021-0093. Epub 2022 Nov 21.
This study aims to describe the COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies implemented in California prisons and the impact of these policies on the mental health of incarcerated women.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with ten women who were over the age of 50 and/or had a chronic illness and had been incarcerated in California prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also interviewed ten health-care providers working in California jails or prisons during the pandemic. Interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory coding framework and triangulated with fieldnotes from ethnographic observations of medical and legal advocacy efforts during the pandemic.
Participants described being locked in their cells for 23 hours per day or more, often for days, weeks or even months at a time in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. For many participants, these lockdowns and the resulting isolation from loved ones both inside and outside of the prison were detrimental to both their physical and mental health. Participants reported that access to mental health care for those in the general population was limited prior to the pandemic, and that COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies, including the cessation of group programs and shift to cell-front mental health services, created further barriers.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: There has been little qualitative research on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on incarcerated populations. This paper provides insight into the mental health effects of both the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies for the structurally vulnerable older women incarcerated in California prisons.
本研究旨在描述加利福尼亚州监狱实施的 COVID-19 缓解策略，以及这些政策对被监禁妇女心理健康的影响。
设计/方法/方法：作者对十名年龄在 50 岁以上和/或患有慢性疾病且在 COVID-19 大流行期间被监禁在加利福尼亚州监狱的妇女进行了半结构化定性访谈。作者还采访了在大流行期间在加利福尼亚州监狱工作的十名医疗保健提供者。使用扎根理论编码框架对访谈进行分析，并与 COVID-19 大流行期间医学和法律宣传工作的民族志观察的现场记录进行三角剖分。
参与者描述说，为了减少 COVID-19 的传播，他们每天被关在牢房里 23 个小时或更长时间，通常是几天、几周甚至几个月。对许多参与者来说，这些封锁以及由此导致的与监狱内外亲人的隔离，对他们的身心健康都造成了伤害。参与者报告说，大流行前，普通人群获得心理健康护理的机会有限，而 COVID-19 缓解策略，包括停止团体项目和转向牢房前心理健康服务，进一步造成了障碍。
原创性/价值：关于 COVID-19 大流行对被监禁人群心理健康的影响，定性研究很少。本文深入了解了 COVID-19 大流行和加利福尼亚州监狱中结构脆弱的老年妇女的 COVID-19 缓解策略对她们心理健康的影响。
