Justice-Involved Youth Have More ED and Hospital Visits, Less Well Care

Two studies show that teens involved with the criminal justice system are less likely to have continuous health insurance and more likely to use the emergency department instead of preventive care.

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system have poorer mental and physical health than youth without such involvement. Two studies examined use of health care services by the two groups.

One study utilized Medicaid and criminal records for 89,000 youth aged 12 to 18 years in one Indiana county from 2004 to 2011. Youth involved with the justice system (23%), compared with those not involved, had a lower rate of preventive visits (0.46 vs. 0.56 per person-year) and a higher rate of ED visits (0.44 vs. 0.37 per person year). Justice-involved youth also had less continuity of insurance and longer gaps between enrolled periods, but this did not explain all the disparities in preventive care use.

The second study used data for youth aged 12 to…

Reviewing Author

Jenny Radesky, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMelissa & Doug Toys (Consultant and Board of Directors)

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute for Child Health and Development; National Institutes of Health

Jenny Radesky, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMelissa & Doug Toys (Consultant and Board of Directors)

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute for Child Health and Development; National Institutes of Health

Justice-Involved Youth Have More ED and Hospital Visits, Less Well Care

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Reviewing Author