Date of Award
1-1-2020
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Public Health (MPH)
Department
School of Public Health
First Advisor
Danya Keene
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
To estimate the effect of openings jail in rural counties on county-level chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis prevalence rates.
Methods
We used county-level data from the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (2005-2017) to obtain chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis rates, and the American Correctional Association’s National Jail and Adult Detention Directory (2013-2014) to locate rural jail openings. Using a generalized synthetic control method, we estimated the effect of opening jails in 41 rural counties between 2010 and 2012 across the United States on sexually-transmitted infections.
Results
We found an average treatment effect for chlamydia prevalence rates in the years following rural jail openings to be increased by 30.6% (p=0.019). For gonorrhea, this effect was 43.3% (p=0.0015). Our sensitivity analysis highlights that gonorrhea may also have spillover effects on nearby rural counties without jails (57.2%; p>0.001). Our results for syphilis rates were inconclusive as we found a significant effect in the years following rural jail openings 25.4%; p=0.036), but sensitivity analyses suggest that this association was driven by one county with high prevalence rate.
Conclusions
Opening a jail in rural counties is associated with increased rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in the surrounding county in which it is sited.
Recommended Citation
Harvey, Tyler, "Association Between Opening A Jail And Sexually Transmitted Infections In Rural Counties Across The United States" (2020). Public Health Theses. 1946.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysphtdl/1946