Prioritizing Diversion and Decarceration of People With Dementia

Lay Kodama; Brie Williams; Nathaniel P Morris

doi:10.1001/amajethics.2023.783

Prioritizing Diversion and Decarceration of People With Dementia

AMA J Ethics. 2023 Oct 1;25(10):E783-790. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2023.783.

Authors

Lay Kodama¹, Brie Williams², Nathaniel P Morris³

Affiliations

¹ First-year resident in the research-track psychiatry residency program at the University of California, San Diego.
² Professor of medicine in the Center for Vulnerable Populations at the University of California, San Francisco.
³ Assistant professor of clinical psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.

Abstract

An aging prison population means more people who are incarcerated will experience dementia and related symptoms (eg, cognitive impairment, behavioral outbursts, poor impulse control). This article canvasses clinical and ethical complexities of caring for people with dementia who are incarcerated and examines how to adapt carceral settings to better meet the needs of people with dementia. This article also recommends policy reforms, such as treatment-based diversion programs, early parole, and medical release, to decrease numbers of individuals with dementia who are incarcerated whenever possible.

MeSH terms

Aging*
Dementia*
Humans
Policy

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding