Assessing correctional health care: Correlations of quality health care services in correctional institutions

This descriptive correlational study analyzed National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) accredited prisons and jails to determine if organizational factors identified in the literature as affecting health care quality were associated with a high-quality index. A literature review identified 34 variables that have been found to be associated with higher quality performance in health care systems.; The study sample included 110 nationally accredited prisons and jails that were analyzed for capacity, improvement, and performance and their correlation to a quality index of accreditation. To assess the relationship between variables, a Pearson r was performed to identify associations, and multiple regressions were done to determined predictive value of the variables. To assess the difference between independent variables, multivariate ANOVAs were conducted.; Analysis indicates that facility type, contracted status, total admissions into the facility, how long the facility has participated in the accreditation program, inmate satisfaction rating, and incidence of syphilis correlate to the quality index for correctional health care systems.; The study's findings imply that correctional health care systems can improve their health care services by maximizing their efforts through associating with private contract health providers and by consolidating their health services for complex health care. Suggestions for future research are offered.