Transitions from jail to rural community for adults with mental illness |
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Authors: | Carrie Ann Langley PhD MPH RN Marylyn Morris McEwen PhD RN FAAN |
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Affiliation: | 1. College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona;2. College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona |
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Abstract: | Objectives Describe the facilitators and inhibitors of accessing healthcare services for adults with mental illness transitioning from a rural jail to a rural community. Design/Sample/Measurements A qualitative descriptive approach was used to conduct this study in a rural southwest county. Purposive sampling was used to recruit eight adults. Data were collected using semi-structured telephonic interviews and analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis with clustering of emergent data. Results The overarching theme, “Out of Jail, but No Freedom,” is supported by four domains: Situational Transition Facilitators; Situational Transition Inhibitors; Health-Illness Transition Facilitators; and Health-Illness Transition Inhibitors. Conclusions Transitions from the rural jail to the community were facilitated by friends, family, and peer navigators. Systemic inequality endemic within the justice system and exacerbated by rurality creates an environment in which marginalization is ubiquitous for persons with mental illness and inhibits their transition from jail to the rural community. Nurses are well positioned to lead systematic reform in public policy, guiding healthcare funding, and jail utilization. |
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Keywords: | public health nursing rural jail transitions rural justice systems |
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