Propensity-matched study of enhanced primary care on contact with the criminal justice system among individuals recently released from prison to New Haven

Background: Health systems can be integral to addressing population health, including persons with incarceration exposure. Few studies have comprehensively integrated state-wide data to assess how the primary care system can impact criminal justice outcomes. We examined whether enhanced primary care can decrease future contact with the criminal justice system among individuals just released from prison.

Methods: We linked administrative data (2013-2016) of Connecticut Department of Correction, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Department of Social Service, Court Support Services Division, and Department of Public Health to conduct a quasi-experimental study using propensity score matching of 94 participants who received enhanced primary care in Transitions Clinic to 94 controls not exposed to the programme. The propensity score included 23 variables, which encompassed participants' medical and incarceration history and service utilisation. The main outcomes were reincarceration rates and days incarcerated in the first year from the index date, which was either enrolment in the Transitions Clinic programme or release from prison in the control group.

Results: The odds of reincarceration, including arrests and new convictions, were similar for the two groups, but Transitions Clinic participants had lower odds of returning to prison for a parole or probation technical violation (adjusted OR: 0.38; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.93) compared with the control group. Further, Transitions Clinic participants had fewer incarceration days (incidence rate ratio: 0.55; 95% CI 0.35 to 0.84) compared with the control group.

Conclusions: Enhanced primary care for individuals just released from prison can reduce reincarceration for technical violations and shorten time spent within correctional facilities. This study shows how community health systems may play a role in current strategies to reduce prison populations.