Incarcerated Individuals' Perspectives on Living with Serious Illness

The object of this study was to elicit patient perspectives on the experience of living with serious illness while incarcerated. The study was conducted at the Rhode Island Adult Corrections Institutions (ACI) in both the men's medium security and women's (all levels) facilities in June of 2016. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants, who met study criteria for serious illness. Interviews were coded following the template organizing style. Eighteen participants were enrolled, 13 males and five females with majority Caucasian (n=11) and ages 40-59 (n=9). Incarcerated individuals with serious illness perceived diverse healthcare deficits, including access to care, quality of care, and accommodations for medical needs and physical disabilities. Deficits were somewhat mitigated through prison programs and support from community advocates. The findings of our study support a quantitative needs assessment of available physical accommodations in prisons, national standardization of what constitutes adequate care, and reevaluation of the prison co-pay system. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2019-03.asp].