Research highlights medication adherence challenges for former prisoners

When he studied two years imprisonment statistics, a team of Laura Dog and fellow health researchers saw that a special scenario was being created. The scenario included the days when a prisoner is released and returns to his community. A remarkable number was released with chronic health issues and was immediately signed up for government subsidized health care – just to stop taking your medicines.

Why would they turn off the medicine for free (or almost free)? And does the former prisoners have appropriate access to care when returning to their communities? These questions have been raised by a new research that the PhD Dig has jointly written. And Professor with the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Those who take their medicines are important to themselves and their communities. “

Laura Dog, PhD, Professor, Bush School of Government and Public Service

This study was published in the “Jama Network Open”, one of the top medical journals. The Dig and his colleagues identified several trends. The most surprising thing is that the former prisoners have a tendency to abandon medication medicines for chronic condition, even the Federal State Insurance Program for low -income people through Medicide. Researchers found this trend especially amazing because other studies have revealed that Medicide increases access to health care for people who were previously imprisoned. New research shows that only insurance cannot be enough.

Dig and his colleagues do not recommend changes in the policy to resolve their results. However, he said the results propose new Medicide’s new policies to guide former prisoners as they re -join their communities, including already encouraged policies under the Federal Support Act, “can be really effective.”

Found two sources for a large picture

The Dig and his colleagues focused their studies on Wisconsin. He partially selected the state because it works an extraordinary work of tracking health data and provides the data to researchers in partnership with the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Poverty. (Also maintains affiliation with the Dog Institute, where he is his co -leader author, Margarat Burns, PhD colleagues) Dog, Burns and his colleagues have connected the Wisconsin’s Department of Reforms with medical data, which led to the return of their medical history.

The research team tracked down all adults with any reform facilities in the state from April 2015 to June 2017. It was 12,960 people, the population is 90 % of male but racial diverse, from adolescents to senior citizens.

Researchers took special interest in 4,302 people who were taking medicines for chronic illness within three months of their release and admitted to Medicide shortly after the release. In other words, people who needed to have easy access to medicine and theoretically.

Only half of them keep their meds.

Researchers came to the conclusion that only 51.7 % filled their prescriptions, though they all left prison with prescription.

Researchers also traced how many former prisoners met the doctor within six months of release. Access to and/or to meet someone was an important predictor of the health of former prisoners. To fill your prescriptions, the doctors were more likely to see the doctor – 40 % more points. And, exempt. , Keep taking medicines that help them stay healthy.

“These are people who have heart conditions, diabetes, anxiety, severe mental illness,” said Dog. He and his fellow researchers identified the medication of the chronic conditions 25 total medicine classes, and “they do not only need medicines because they left jail.”

The study did not indicate why he quit taking his medicine. Nor does it think that the image of Wisconsin is exactly a mirror that is somewhere else in the country. But the results show that similar issues may exist elsewhere and should be addressed.

Recently, the income of the imprisoned people is very low, if any, because after their release, there is rare job. So when a former prisoner cannot afford to take care of them and he faces a catastrophic health problem, such as an emergency room visit, cost often becomes social: spread among people who use a health care system or taxpayers. Many studies show that easy precautions – such as taking recommended medicines – can reduce costs throughout such systems.

“We know that after his departure, the prisoner health, and his health, is generally worse than that of the same people who have not been imprisoned,” said Dig. “It has the results for these individuals, obviously, but also for their communities: more emergency reactions, ambulance rides, emergency room visits and other expenses.”