Screening for public purpose: Promoting an evidence-based approach to screening of inmates to improve public health

Abstract

Jail and prison screening procedures have developed to rapidly identify patients with acute illness or communicable disease to protect the health of other inmates and staff. But the period of incarceration is also an opportune moment to impact public health via evidence-based screening of high-risk individuals who do not otherwise access routine preventive care. Given the dynamic exchange between correctional facilities and medically underserved communities, effective screening in jails and prisons is generally a costeffective approach to improving population health. © 2007 Springer New York.