Editor's Letter
Abstract
John R.Miles MPA Dear Colleagues, This issue of the Journal of Correctional Health Care has an Expanded Focus section on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Estelle v. Gamble on correctional health care. I want to thank Dave Doolen, a JCHC editorial board member, for his assistance in the development of this section and the authors for taking time to write their material. The commentaries and articles highlight the important role litigation has played to bring about change in correctional health, but they also demonstrate how the public perception of the “standard of decency” has supported improved access, accreditation, and the growing recognition of correctional medicine as a professional discipline. They also focus attention on how the process begun by Estelle con- tinues to evolve to improve current practice and foster future improvements. The issue also features articles on an outbreak investigation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a Tennessee prison and the use of motivational interviewing to change cognitive and behavioral processes to improve performance outcomes. Our Readers Write column focuses on elder care. I especially encourage you to take a moment to send me your comments via letters to the editor and to provide short