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Health and Justice: Framing incarceration as a social determinant of health for Black men in the United States
Author(s) -
Nowotny Kathryn M.,
KuptsevychTimmer Anastasiia
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/soc4.12566
Subject(s) - mass incarceration , framing (construction) , criminology , health equity , black male , sociology , social justice , criminal justice , gender studies , political science , geography , health care , law , archaeology
There has been growing interest in improving the health of Black men and the social determinants of health affecting them. In this paper, we argue that incarceration is an important social determinant of health in contemporary U.S. society for Black men and their families. Mass incarceration has deleterious health effects for those directly affected by it (the incarcerated), and mass incarceration contaminates the communities where it is geographically concentrated. Given the enormous differences in exposure to incarceration for Black men, this group is the most burdened by its effects. By extension, the larger Black community is disproportionately impacted due to the cascading effects of incarceration for families and neighborhoods. Therefore, it is necessary to include incarceration in research and policy addressing the health of Black men in the United States.