Saloner and his colleagues summarize the perspectives of
these carceral leaders as they navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among other findings, they find that most facilities had outbreak plans that were not suited to address a rapidly evolving pandemic like COVID-19. Many of these plans were designed to address pathogens that had either “never substantially affected US populations” or were “endemic in carceral facilities.”
Carceral leaders generally “underestimated the speed and scope of the pandemic,” forcing many facilities to improvise while underresourced and undertrained.
Health Affairs’ new Forefront series, Private Sector Solutions for Health Equity, features health equity experts as they examine private-sector initiatives and responsibility to advance health equity. The series includes articles exploring private-sector efforts to challenge injustices in health care. Topics covered include cardiovascular health, mental health, and maternal health.
In the second article in the
series, authors Christopher King and Deliya B. Wesley argue that the public and private sectors can accelerate progress by increasing access to capital through in-kind equity contributions, including loans and revenue participation agreements, to minority-owned business enterprises.
We are grateful to CVS Health for supporting this series.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
