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Challenges to Medical Autonomy in Correctional Healthcare in the United States

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5659662
AutoresAllison Gorga (0000-0002-7693-0285, Department of Law, Crime, and Social Justice Webster University St. Louis Missouri USA, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Volumen47
Número8
Páginase70103-e70103
Fecha de publicación2025-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.70103
PMID41074534
OpenAlexW4415082161
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas28

Correctional healthcare workers face numerous challenges delivering healthcare to incarcerated patients. This study aims to understand the ways these healthcare workers struggle to assert their medical and clinical independence from custody staff. This study employed a qualitative design, using in-depth interviews with 46 correctional healthcare workers across the United States in 2022. Results indicate that the delivery of correctional healthcare is a product of negotiated order in detention facilities. Participants and custody staff coproduce an informal hierarchy that promotes deference to officers, whereas policies and institutional factors further blur the lines between punishment and care. Healthcare workers also described their strategies for overcoming these issues. Policy implications for improving medical autonomy in correctional healthcare are also discussed

Autonomy · Deference · Face (sociological concept) · Health care · Healthcare policy · Hierarchy · Independence (probability theory) · Qualitative research · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints · Torture, Ethics, and Law