Journal of Correctional Health Care

Justice-Involved Women and Cervical Cancer Disparities: Issues of Surveillance, Education, and Policy

Incarceration affects an increasing number of women in the United States. For current and formerly incarcerated women (justice-involved women), incarceration has implications for health, particularly the reproductive health of women, long after incarceration is over. Currently, justice-involved women have a high cervical cancer burden relative to the general population, resulting in substantial disparities in incidence and outcomes. In this article, we review the surveillance, education, and resulting policy issues that contribute to incarceration being a determinant of cervical cancer disparities and present a potential model for continuity of care to reduce such inequity.

Cervical Cancer and a History of Incarceration: Examining a Social Determinant of Health

Females who are incarcerated are disproportionately burdened by cancer, particularly cervical cancer. We measured the odds of cervical cancer compared with nonscreenable cancers for females who were incarcerated before diagnosis. By comparing a cancer for which screening and vaccination are available with cancers for which neither are available, we aimed to assess the relationship of incarceration with diseases for which preventive care mitigates risk. We created a novel data set combining cancer data from a large cancer center with incarceration data from the state department of corrections. We then estimated the odds of cervical cancer relative to nonscreenable cancers for those with and without a history of incarceration. Females with a history of incarceration had greater odds of being diagnosed with cervical cancer compared with nonscreenable cancers (odds ratio = 7.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.4-11.0) relative to those who had not been incarcerated. Adjusting for race and age, the odds of cervical cancer remained significantly greater for those with a history of incarceration (adjusted odds ratio = 3.86; 95% CI: 2.3-6.3). Our findings support the need for expanded cervical cancer screening and vaccination opportunities for incarcerated females and increased access to preventive health care after release.