SEICHE Center for Health and Justice, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Feb 14;19(2):e0297518. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297518. eCollection 2024.
For the millions of people incarcerated in United States' prisons and jails during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation took many forms, including medical isolation for those sick with COVID-19, quarantine for those potentially exposed, and prolonged facility-wide lockdowns. Incarcerated people's lived experience of isolation during the pandemic has largely gone undocumented. Through interviews with 48 incarcerated people and 27 staff at two jails and one prison in geographically diverse locations in the United States, we document the implementation of COVID-19 isolation policies from the perspective of those that live and work in carceral settings. Incarcerated people were isolated from social contact, educational programs, employment, and recreation, and lacked clear communication about COVID-19-related protocols. Being isolated, no matter the reason, felt like punishment and was compared to solitary confinement-with resultant long-term, negative impacts on health. Participants detailed isolation policies as disruptive, detrimental to mental health, and dehumanizing for incarcerated people. Findings point to several recommendations for isolation policy in carceral settings. These include integrating healthcare delivery into isolation protocols, preserving social relationships during isolation, promoting bidirectional communication about protocols and their effect between facility leadership and incarcerated people. Most importantly, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the current approach to the use of isolation in carceral settings and to establish external oversight procedures for its use during pandemics.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，美国监狱和拘留所中数百万被监禁的人经历了多种形式的隔离，包括患有 COVID-19 的人的医疗隔离、对可能接触过病毒的人的隔离以及设施内长时间的封锁。在大流行期间，被监禁者的隔离生活经历在很大程度上没有记录在案。通过对美国地理上不同地区的两个监狱和一个监狱的 48 名被监禁者和 27 名工作人员进行访谈，我们从生活和工作在监禁环境中的人的角度记录了 COVID-19 隔离政策的实施情况。被监禁者与社会接触、教育计划、就业和娱乐活动隔离，并且对与 COVID-19 相关的协议缺乏明确的沟通。被隔离，无论原因如何，都感觉像是受到了惩罚，并被比作单独监禁——对健康造成长期的负面影响。参与者详细描述了隔离政策对被监禁者具有破坏性、有害心理健康和不人道。研究结果提出了一些关于监狱隔离政策的建议。这些建议包括将医疗保健服务纳入隔离协议、在隔离期间保留社会关系、促进设施领导层与被监禁者之间关于协议及其影响的双向沟通。最重要的是，迫切需要重新评估目前在监禁环境中使用隔离的方法，并为在大流行期间使用隔离建立外部监督程序。
