Call for papers - Improving the health of incarcerated people

Guest Editors

Jaimie P. Meyer, MD, MS, FACP, Yale University, USA
Heino Johann Stöver, PhD, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany
James Woodall, BSc (Hons), PG Cert, MSc, PhD, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 24 January 2025

BMC Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on improving the health of incarcerated people. People incarcerated in prisons and jails often experience higher rates of infectious diseases, chronic illnesses, mental health disorders, and substance use disorders compared to the general population. Optimizing health services within carceral settings is needed to mitigate the spread of diseases, improve treatment outcomes, and contribute to the health of people and communities. Our Collection invite submissions on topics including mental health integration, health education, technology, preventive measures, community partnerships, staff training, human rights, continuity of care, decarceration's health impact, healthcare workforce optimization, and involving lived experiences in intervention design. Submit your innovative strategies and evidence-based practices to improve healthcare in carceral settings.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

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Meet the Guest Editor

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Jaimie P. Meyer, MD, MS, FACP, Yale University, USA

Dr Meyer is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Yale, and the Associate Program Director for Research of the Infectious Disease fellowship training program. Dr Meyer is a practicing physician who is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Addiction Medicine. Dr Meyer's NIH-funded clinical research lab focuses on HIV prevention and treatment for women, addressing social and structural determinants of health. Ongoing projects involve HIV prevention and treatment interventions for women involved in criminal legal systems, attending to reproductive health needs, intimate partner violence, substance use disorders and homelessness. Her clinical work and research are motivated by her experience working as an HIV care provider at the only women’s prison and jail in Connecticut.

Heino Johann Stöver, PhD, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Dr Stöver is a social scientist, PhD and Professor of Social Scientific Addiction Research at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, Faculty of Health and Social Work. Dr Stöver is the director of the Archive and Documentation Centre for Drug Literature and Research at the University of Bremen. He is the president of the national umbrella organization working on harm reduction for drug users, called akzept e.V. (Bundesverband für akzeptierende Drogenarbeit und humane Drogenpolitik). Since 2009 Dr Stöver is the director of the “Institute of Addiction Research” (frankfurt-university.de/isff). Heino Stöver’s main fields of research and project development expertise are health promotion for vulnerable and marginalized groups, drug services, prison health care and related health issues (especially HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, drug dependence, and gender issues), and the potential of e-cigarettes. His international research and consultancy expertise includes working as a consultant for the European Commission, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Health Organization (WHO), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Open Society Institute (OSI) in various contexts.

James Woodall, BSc (Hons), PG Cert, MSc, PhD, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Dr Woodall works in the School of Health at Leeds Beckett University. Dr Woodall's research interest is the health promoting prison and how values central to health promotion are applied to the context of imprisonment. Dr Woodall’s work has also focused on prisoners’ families and prison staff. James has published more broadly on health promotion matters. including empowerment in health promotion and the contribution of local government in tackling health inequalities.

About the Collection

BMC Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on improving the health of incarcerated people.

People incarcerated in prisons and jails often experience higher rates of infectious diseases, chronic illnesses, mental health disorders, and substance use disorders compared to the general population. Factors such as overcrowding, limited access to preventive care, limited access to health care while incarcerated and lack of follow-up after return to communities, insufficient or absent pre-release planning and counseling, and staffing challenges contribute to a complex healthcare landscape within carceral settings. As long as prisons and jails exist, improving the health of incarcerated people is crucial not only for addressing the well-being of individuals behind bars but also for safeguarding public health, because carceral settings are part of communities and prison health is public health. Optimizing health services within carceral settings is needed to mitigate the spread of diseases, improve treatment outcomes, and contribute to the health of people and communities.

Our Collection aims to explore innovative strategies and evidence-based practices that contribute to the optimization of healthcare services in carceral settings. This issue will provide a platform for experts, researchers, and practitioners to share insights, best practices, and research findings, fostering a comprehensive understanding of how healthcare delivery can be improved for people who are incarcerated and the community as a whole. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Integrating mental health services in carceral facilities
Health education programs for incarcerated people: impact and strategies
The role of technology in improving healthcare infrastructure in carceral settings
Preventive healthcare measures in carceral settings
Community partnerships for enabling healthcare transitions
Staff training and sensitization in carceral health
Human rights and dignity in carceral healthcare practices
Assessing and improving continuity of care for returning citizens
Impact of decarceration on health outcomes
Strategies to optimize the healthcare workforce in carceral settings
Involvement of people with lived experience in designing healthcare interventions in carceral settings

This collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Improving the health of incarcerated people" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.