Prison Abolition: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis With Implications for Nursing

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Social Justice
• Nursing Ethics

Background:

• Mass incarceration in the United States disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
• The concept of prison abolition offers a framework for addressing systemic issues within the carceral system.
• Nursing's ethical obligations extend to addressing social determinants of health and promoting health equity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clarify the concept of prison abolition within the context of U.S. mass incarceration.
• To explore the implications of prison abolition for nursing ethics, knowledge production, and practice.
• To examine the alignment of prison abolition with existing nursing ethical frameworks.

Main Methods:

• A critical literature review was conducted using Rodger's evolutionary concept analysis.
• Interdisciplinary academic texts were systematically searched and thematically analyzed.
• Attributes, antecedents, and consequences of prison abolition were identified from 30 sources.

Main Results:

• Nine attributes of prison abolition were identified: Counterhegemonic, Recognizing Carceral Harm and Failure, New Public Discourse, Incremental, Culture of Care, Equitable Justice, Elimination Not Reform, Evolving, and Grassroots.
• The concept of prison abolition is relatively absent in nursing literature despite its relevance to health concerns.
• Prison abolition principles resonate with the American Nursing Association's Nursing Code of Ethics.

Conclusions:

• Prison abolition principles align with and can inform U.S. nursing ethics.
• Incorporating prison abolition into nursing practice, scholarship, and advocacy can advance health equity.
• Nurses are ethically compelled to engage with prison abolition to address health disparities affecting marginalized populations.