Incarceration rates and hospital beds per capita: A cross-national study of 36 countries, 1971-2015.

ABSTRACT: RATIONALE:Incarceration carries several negative ramifications for population health, while diverting scarce resources from other public goods. At a time when health care systems around the world are strained, the current study investigates the long-term relationship between incarceration and health care infrastructure. OBJECTIVE:We investigated the longitudinal association between incarceration rates and hospital beds per capita for 36 countries between 1971 and 2015. METHOD:Fixed effects regression analyses were employed to examine the effect of within-country changes in incarceration rates on hospital beds per capita. RESULTS:Findings demonstrated that increases in national incarceration rates over time were associated with declines in hospital beds per capita, net of controls for socio-demographic and economic factors. CONCLUSIONS:Increased incarceration negatively impacts hospital bed availability at the cross-national level.

SUBMITTER: Testa A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7398037 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature