Preventive healthcare for underserved women: results of a prison survey

We sought to determine the preventive healthcare needs of incarcerated women in the following areas: cervical cancer and breast cancer screening, sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening, hepatitis screening and vaccination, and smoking cessation.

A cross-sectional interview survey of a random sample of 100 incarcerated women at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) in Cranston, Rhode Island, was conducted.

Participants were 62% white, 11% African American, 13% Hispanic, and 14% of mixed race. Mean age was 35 years. Of those surveyed, 67% reported having had a Papanicolou (Pap) smear in the past year, the strongest predictor of which was having received a Pap smear while incarcerated. Of the inmates >40 years old, 58% reported having had a mammogram in the past 2 years. The majority (88%) reported testing for STIs in the past, and 39% desired testing during their current incarceration. As for hepatitis C, 70% had been tested previously and 37% of those reported testing positive. Hispanics were less likely than whites to have been tested for hepatitis C (OR 0.1). Over half (54%) of the women who reported testing positive for hepatitis C also reported having completed the hepatitis A and B vaccine series. Among smokers (80% of all survey participants), 61% were interested in quitting. Those who had been incarcerated multiple times were less likely to want to quit smoking (OR 0.1).

Incarceration presents a unique opportunity to provide preventive healthcare to high-risk, medically underserved women.