American journal of public health
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Growing evidence indicates that women in prison are particularly vulnerable to many negative health outcomes, including cervical cancer. The Papanicolaou (Pap) test is an effective tool to screen for this disease. To determine what is and is not working with the Pap test and follow-up treatment, we performed qualitative interviews with women prisoners and key informants at a California state women's prison. ⋯ Women reported having negative experiences during the test and with their health care providers. Additionally the prison's culture and infrastructure create obstacles that hinder prisoners from receiving quality care and providers from delivering that care. In response, women prisoners use self-and community advocacy to meet their health care needs and cope with these challenges.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effects of recreational physical activity and back exercises on low back pain and psychological distress: findings from the UCLA Low Back Pain Study.
We sought to estimate the effects of recreational physical activity and back exercises on low back pain, related disability, and psychological distress among patients randomized to chiropractic or medical care in a managed care setting. ⋯ These results suggest that individuals with low back pain should refrain from specific back exercises and instead focus on nonspecific physical activities to reduce pain and improve psychological health.
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The drawings of Todd (Hyung-Rae) Tarselli, a prisoner confined in a Pennsylvania "close-security" or "supermaximum" prison, tell a story--one that graphically portrays the devastating effects of a prison on the mental health of its inmates.
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US citizens face a growing threat of contracting communicable diseases owing to the high recidivism rate in state and federal prisons, poor screening and treatment of prisoners, and inferior follow-up health care upon their release. Insufficient education about communicable diseases--for prisoners and citizens alike--and other problems, such as prejudice against prisoners, escalating costs, and an unreliable correctional health care delivery system for inmates, all contribute to a public health problem that requires careful examination and correction for the protection of everyone involved.