The Journal of Correctional Health Care invites submissions for a special issue focused on identifying and advancing solutions to the sociostructural determinants of health in carceral settings. Sociostructural determinants of health include poverty, racism, education, and other factors that create and reinforce unequal access to resources and opportunities that impact health.
We seek contributions that not only examine the institutional and environmental drivers of health outcomes in correctional systems, but also offer practical, scalable, or innovative responses—whether clinical, organizational, or policy-based. Additionally, we encourage submissions from graduate/doctoral students (with or without faculty co-authors), practitioners such as correctional health staff, reentry coordinators, community partners, as well as justice-impacted individuals with lived experience.
We welcome a range of submission types, including:
- Narrative Medicine – reflective or first-person stories by those with lived experience that highlight how structural barriers or ethical challenges were confronted or addressed in practice
- Case Reports – clinical or operational scenarios that demonstrate challenges and creative or systems-based solutions
- Quality Improvement – data-driven efforts to improve care delivery, access, or equity within correctional health systems
- Original Research – empirical studies evaluating the impact of interventions, policies, or structural changes on health outcomes
- Best Practices – description of best practices to address sociostructural determinants of health and disparities in carceral settings (i.e., methods for improving ways to understand the needs and outcomes of the population served)
- Commentaries/Essays – shorter, critical reflections on policy, ethics, or reform directions—bridging research and practice.
Topics may include (but are not limited to):
- Addressing care gaps driven by institutional policies and systemic barriers
- Solutions to improve equity in access, treatment, or reentry care
- Describing the ethical challenges faced by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers working or training in carceral facilities
- Programs or practices that mitigate the effects of historical or structural disadvantages
- Training or staffing models that address bias, turnover, or access to care barriers
- Community and carceral partnerships that address population health issues
Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, authors may use their discretion in changing names of individuals and facilities. We actively encourage students across the spectrum of disciplines to submit to this call. The focus of submissions should be solutions or recommendations.
Guest Editors: Jennifer Wyatt Bourgeois, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Texas Southern University, and Dionne Hart, MD, CCHP-MH, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Submission Deadline: February 1, 2026
