Corrections_Today_January_February_2020_Vol.82_No.1

Correctional Health Perspectives

trauma symptoms. Many individuals with SUD wind up interacting with the criminal justice system, in one form or another, so systems must be equipped with a range of tools to help them effectively treat this disease (Bowen, et al., 2017). Another SUD that is still prevalent in our society involves crack cocaine. Yoga and meditation have shown to be beneficial for individuals with crack cocaine addiction in the community (Agarwal, Kumar, & Lewis, 2015). Individuals with SUD, in addition to a large range of other populations within the criminal justice system, should be offered CAM options. Opportunity There is an opportunity for cor- rectional agencies to implement and evaluate the benefit of CAM for their inmate-patient population. Targeted CAM pilot sites should include facilities with low enough security settings to allow for group therapy classes where there is enough room and ease for movement. Implemen- tation in a group setting will be the most cost-effective strategy. Inmate- patients can go through a 12-week program of either yoga or medita- tion while a control cohort receives neither option. A number of tools will aid evalu- ating overall success of the program for inmate-patients. Pre-program surveys of subjective factors such as physical pain, quality of life, psy- chological factors, and prospective

continuation of CAM into the community will provide a baseline evaluation. The same surveys will be administered after the fourth, eighth, and twelfth weeks of the program. A final follow-up will be conducted six months after programs are com- pleted. Surveys will ask for rating scales on identified metrics and will also include an open-ended question asking about perceived benefit from the patient to use as testimonials for program efficacy when present- ing follow-up data to acquire more funding. Medication administra- tion records will be systematically reviewed as well, to evaluate trends and hopeful decreases in the dosage and volume of prescriptions over a certain period. The hope is that this can also illustrate an increase in regular medication administrative compliance. Group members from all three cohorts will also be tracked following their release to evaluate their recidivism rates within a 12- and 24-month period. The hope of a pilot program is that agencies will begin utilizing CAM options regularly so they can compare historical data and present any subsequent findings to col- leagues throughout the nation in the hopes to improve the overall justice population. One goal of this article is to show how CAM can benefit populations that have had histori- cally underserved care due to reasons such as: housing, race, economic disparities, incarceration status, social status, etc. Another goal is

to show that a correctional system burdened with limited resources can incorporate practices to improve public health outcomes in a cost- efficient manner. A third goal is to decrease overall public healthcare costs for incarcerated populations by incorporating a preventive and holistic approach to improving health outcomes. Conclusion Treatment in corrections comes with a variety of obstacles. As in- creasing numbers of individuals with complex medical and mental health needs enters prisons and jails, so too must the treatments and services that are provided. It is becoming more apparent that there is not a one-size-fits-all model, so agencies must get creative and should begin to incorporate CAM options for their in- mate-patients. There are cost-effective options that can make a difference during incarceration and upon reentry to the community. Implementing some forms of CAM in strategically piloted sites can provide data that will validate the extended use of these programs. Most importantly, many of these practices can make an impact to members of society that can reduce the incidence of incarceration. This could also decrease the gap in dispari- ties and improve health outcomes for generations to come. Note: The author of this article would like to give a special thanks to Harbans Deol, DO, Ph.D. →

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