Women’s Health
Improving the Health of Imprisoned Women
 wo prisons in the town of Chowchilla in California’s Central Valley house close to 8,000 women – approximately 75 percent of the women in the state’s prison system. While 80 percent of these imprisoned women were convicted of nonviolent offenses, they are housed in the two maximum security facilities.
Many of the women are from poor, urban communities where access to preventive health services was limited even before they entered the corrections system. Their rates of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes are high, and while HIV infection rates are unknown, a documented hepatitis C rate of 40 percent among the prison population suggests that prevention and testing services inside these facilities are lacking – especially for women, whose specific health concerns often go unaddressed.
 In 2004, Justice Now received a three-year grant of $150,000 from TCWF to continue to provide its peer health education program and to produce health-related information for use by women in these two California prisons. Women in these prisons have specifically identified lack of access to health information and medical treatment as one of their primary concerns.
As a legal services provider, Justice Now is in a unique position to provide health education. Because the program is delivered within the context of the organization’s legal clinic, its contacts with imprisoned women – peer health educators and others – are confidential and are not censored by either the state or prison staff. Using its network of contacts within the two prisons and among women who have been released, Justice Now staff identifies women who have been successful in accessing health care and who are willing to help others navigate the system.
“We provide women with health information and treatment options and then connect them with a peer who helps them access care,” said Cynthia Chandler, Justice Now co-director. “We now have 31 women serving as internal referral contacts with expertise in areas including HIV education and filing grievances to demand care.”
This peer advocacy component is supplemented by written curriculum on 20 topics including navigating the system and correctly filling out required paperwork, health topics such as cancer and hepatitis C, and mental health issues including grief and loss and coping with anxiety and depression. The curriculum also includes a medical log sheet so that women can keep a personal record of medical visits.
“Justice Now’s model using peer health educators creates a bridge between women in prison and the prison health system, facilitating their access to care,” said Saba Brelvi, TCWF program director. “It’s hoped that if these women can receive health information and take a more active role in managing their own health while inside prison, they can continue to effectively advocate for their needs following their release.”
For more information, please visit www.jnow.org
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