Inmate Inmate Health and Medical Care 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary public health concern regarding tuberculosis (TB) in correctional facilities?
- TB is rare in prisons
- Overcrowding and poor ventilation facilitate TB transmission, and prisons are screening sites for the broader community (Correct answer)
- TB only affects staff, not inmates
- TB testing is not required in prisons
Correct answer: Overcrowding and poor ventilation facilitate TB transmission, and prisons are screening sites for the broader community
Correctional facilities are high-risk environments for TB transmission due to crowding and ventilation challenges, and incarcerated people have significantly higher TB rates than the general population.
Question 2: Under what circumstances can an inmate legally refuse medical treatment in the U.S.?
- Inmates cannot refuse any medical treatment
- Competent inmates have the right to refuse treatment, including life-saving care (Correct answer)
- Only if a judge approves the refusal
- Only for minor treatments, not serious care
Correct answer: Competent inmates have the right to refuse treatment, including life-saving care
Competent incarcerated individuals retain the constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, including life-saving procedures, based on the right to bodily autonomy.
Question 3: What is the 'Farmer v. Brennan' standard relevant to inmate health and safety?
- Inmates must pay for their own medical care
- Prison officials are liable for deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm (Correct answer)
- Inmates can only file medical claims after release
- Medical screening is optional at intake
Correct answer: Prison officials are liable for deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm
Farmer v. Brennan (1994) held that prison officials who know of and disregard a substantial risk of serious harm to an inmate violate the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
Question 4: Which organization accredits correctional health care services in U.S. facilities?
- American Bar Association
- National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) (Correct answer)
- American Correctional Association only
- Centers for Disease Control
Correct answer: National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC)
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) sets standards and accredits health care programs in jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities across the U.S.
Question 5: What is the primary risk factor for inmate suicide in U.S. correctional facilities?
- Work assignment changes
- Single-cell housing and isolation (Correct answer)
- High program participation
- Frequent family visits
Correct answer: Single-cell housing and isolation
Research consistently identifies single-cell isolation and social disconnection as major risk factors for inmate suicide, along with untreated mental illness and recent bad news.
Question 6: What must correctional facilities provide under the Americans with Disabilities Act for inmates with serious mental illness?
- Transfer to a psychiatric hospital only
- Reasonable modifications to programs, services, and activities (Correct answer)
- Automatic release
- Single-cell housing always
Correct answer: Reasonable modifications to programs, services, and activities
The ADA requires correctional facilities to provide reasonable modifications so that inmates with mental or physical disabilities can access programs, services, and activities.
Inmate Inmate Health and Medical Care 2
What is the primary public health concern regarding tuberculosis (TB) in correctional facilities?