"It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the millions of people incarcerated in United States' prisons and jails during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation took many forms, including medical isolation for those sick with COVID-19, quarantine for those potentially exposed, and prolonged facility-wide lockdowns. Incarcerated people...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297518&type=printable |
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| author | Alana Rosenberg Lisa B Puglisi Kathryn A Thomas Alexandra A Halberstam Rosemarie A Martin Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein Emily A Wang |
| author_facet | Alana Rosenberg Lisa B Puglisi Kathryn A Thomas Alexandra A Halberstam Rosemarie A Martin Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein Emily A Wang |
| author_sort | Alana Rosenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For the millions of people incarcerated in United States' prisons and jails during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation took many forms, including medical isolation for those sick with COVID-19, quarantine for those potentially exposed, and prolonged facility-wide lockdowns. Incarcerated people's lived experience of isolation during the pandemic has largely gone undocumented. Through interviews with 48 incarcerated people and 27 staff at two jails and one prison in geographically diverse locations in the United States, we document the implementation of COVID-19 isolation policies from the perspective of those that live and work in carceral settings. Incarcerated people were isolated from social contact, educational programs, employment, and recreation, and lacked clear communication about COVID-19-related protocols. Being isolated, no matter the reason, felt like punishment and was compared to solitary confinement-with resultant long-term, negative impacts on health. Participants detailed isolation policies as disruptive, detrimental to mental health, and dehumanizing for incarcerated people. Findings point to several recommendations for isolation policy in carceral settings. These include integrating healthcare delivery into isolation protocols, preserving social relationships during isolation, promoting bidirectional communication about protocols and their effect between facility leadership and incarcerated people. Most importantly, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the current approach to the use of isolation in carceral settings and to establish external oversight procedures for its use during pandemics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-142c18298c074befb2fd7573ed7c8af9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-142c18298c074befb2fd7573ed7c8af92025-08-20T03:51:24ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01192e029751810.1371/journal.pone.0297518"It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic.Alana RosenbergLisa B PuglisiKathryn A ThomasAlexandra A HalberstamRosemarie A MartinLauren Brinkley-RubinsteinEmily A WangFor the millions of people incarcerated in United States' prisons and jails during the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation took many forms, including medical isolation for those sick with COVID-19, quarantine for those potentially exposed, and prolonged facility-wide lockdowns. Incarcerated people's lived experience of isolation during the pandemic has largely gone undocumented. Through interviews with 48 incarcerated people and 27 staff at two jails and one prison in geographically diverse locations in the United States, we document the implementation of COVID-19 isolation policies from the perspective of those that live and work in carceral settings. Incarcerated people were isolated from social contact, educational programs, employment, and recreation, and lacked clear communication about COVID-19-related protocols. Being isolated, no matter the reason, felt like punishment and was compared to solitary confinement-with resultant long-term, negative impacts on health. Participants detailed isolation policies as disruptive, detrimental to mental health, and dehumanizing for incarcerated people. Findings point to several recommendations for isolation policy in carceral settings. These include integrating healthcare delivery into isolation protocols, preserving social relationships during isolation, promoting bidirectional communication about protocols and their effect between facility leadership and incarcerated people. Most importantly, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the current approach to the use of isolation in carceral settings and to establish external oversight procedures for its use during pandemics.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297518&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Alana Rosenberg Lisa B Puglisi Kathryn A Thomas Alexandra A Halberstam Rosemarie A Martin Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein Emily A Wang "It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE |
| title | "It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| title_full | "It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| title_fullStr | "It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| title_full_unstemmed | "It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| title_short | "It's just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong": Isolation, incarceration, and the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| title_sort | it s just us sitting there for 23 hours like we done something wrong isolation incarceration and the covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297518&type=printable |
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