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Objectives: We sought to determine the preventive healthcare needs of incarcerated women in the following areas: cervical cancer and breast cancer screening, sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening, hepatitis screening and vaccination, and smoking cessation. Methods: A cross-sectional interview survey of a random sample of 100 incarcerated women at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) in Cranston, Rhode Island, was conducted. Results: Participants were 62% white, 11% African American, 13% Hispanic, and 14% of mixed race. Mean age was 35 years. Of those surveyed, 67% reported having had a Papanicolou (Pap) smear in the past year, the strongest predictor of which was having received a Pap smear while incarcerated. Of the inmates >40 years old, 58% reported having had a mammogram in the past 2 years. The majority (88%) reported testing for STIs in the past, and 39% desired testing during their current incarceration. As for hepatitis C, 70% had been tested previously and 37% of those reported testing positive. Hispanics were less likely than whites to have been tested for hepatitis C (OR 0.1). Over half (54%) of the women who reported testing positive for hepatitis C also reported having completed the hepatitis A and B vaccine series. Among smokers (80% of all survey participants), 61% were interested in quitting. Those who had been incarcerated multiple times were less likely to want to quit smoking (OR 0.1). Conclusions: Incarceration presents a unique opportunity to provide preventive healthcare to high-risk, medically underserved women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the preventive healthcare needs of incarcerated women in the U.S. She contends that unequal access to healthcare continues to suffer the nation's prison population. She points out these women carry disparity in the burden of disease within the correctional system and the community upon release. She adds that although women comprise only 7% of the incarcerated population, they have a higher prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.