Sexual Health Risk and the Movement of Women Between Disadvantaged Communities and Local Jails

Abstract

Drawing on cross-sectional data collected in three Kansas City jails, our objective was to describe the social, neighborhood-based context of sexual health risk prior to incarceration for 290 women. Half of the participants were clustered in Kansas City's urban core before their incarceration. Women who lived in these neighborhoods, which had the highest density of our incarcerated participants, were 3 times as likely to report a history of trading sex for money, drugs, or life necessities compared to women who lived elsewhere in the city. Living in a neighborhood that was perceived to have low social capital was also associated with sexually transmitted infection history. Gaining an understanding of these social influences in women's lives—particularly at the neighborhood level—provides key insights that will allow future interventions to change the health outcomes of women who move between disadvantaged communities and local jails.

Keywords:

• sexual health
• jail
• incarcerated women
• neighborhood disadvantage