Why women, compared to men, utilize health services at a consistently higher rate within or outside prison confinement is not well known or studied. Health needs and stress factors of 67 imprisoned women and their interrelatedness and impact on health service use were examined. Subgroups with histories of attempted suicide (HAS) and absence of drug use/abuse evolved, scoring significantly higher health service use, misconduct infractions, and injuries compared to the non-HAS and history of drug abuse (HDA) groups. Histories of abuse in childand adulthood were significantly more prevalent among the subgroups. Trauma history and development of vulnerability profiles may better explain gender-specific health service utilization.
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