International Journal of Prisoner Health

PURPOSE: Depression has become a major health concern, particularly in developing countries. This disorder is highly prevalent among certain vulnerable populations, such as prisoners. In Peru, prisons are overcrowded, and the health of prisoners is neglected. Thus, this study aims to estimate the prevalence of depression diagnosed during incarceration in male inmates from all Peruvian prisons and assess its associated factors. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on the secondary data analysis of the National Census of Prison Population 2016 in Peru...

PURPOSE: People who use drugs (PWUD) have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine changes in illicit opioid use and related factors among incarcerated PWUD in Quebec, Canada, during the pandemic. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors conducted an observational, cross-sectional study in three Quebec provincial prisons. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires. The primary outcome, "changes in illicit opioid consumption," was measured using the question "Has your consumption of opioid drugs that were not prescribed to you by a medical professional changed since March 2020?" The association of independent variables and recent changes (past six months) in opioid consumption were examined using mixed-effects Poisson regression models with robust standard errors...

PURPOSE: This paper aims to report findings about how prisoners experience and cope with COVID-19 restrictions, which can contribute to an understanding of how pandemic responses, and specifically the COVID-19 response, affect prisoners. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Data was collected through ethnographic fieldwork involving days of observations ( N = 24) and the conduction of semi-structured interviews with prisoners ( N = 30) in closed prisons and detentions in Denmark between May and December 2021...

PURPOSE: Suicide prevention and intervention in prisons is a challenge. Prisons were not designed to be clinical facilities, yet with the growing numbers of people who face mental health challenges in prisons, staff require knowledge and skills to adequately address mental health crises, especially suicide. This study aims to: describe trends in suicide attempts and completions within one state's prison system and measure staff knowledge and preparedness to address suicide. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This research uses a nonexperimental research design and two data sources...

PURPOSE: Rates of self-harm are elevated in prison, and there is limited evidence to support the efficacy of brief risk screening at reception to predict and prevent self-harm. This study aims to examine the predictive validity of the self-harm/suicide screening items embedded in a prison mental health screening tool from two key domains strongly associated with risk: previous suicidal/self-harm behaviour, and recent ideation. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A sample of men and women were screened on entry to prison, with eight screening items covering the two key domains of risk...

PURPOSE: This study aims to describe the COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies implemented in California prisons and the impact of these policies on the mental health of incarcerated women. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with ten women who were over the age of 50 and/or had a chronic illness and had been incarcerated in California prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also interviewed ten health-care providers working in California jails or prisons during the pandemic...

PURPOSE: Vaccinating adults who are involved with the carceral system, particularly those aged 55 or older, is crucial to containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, particularly as variants continue to emerge and spread. In this Viewpoint, the authors discuss the reasons why improving access to COVID-19 vaccine and boosters among community supervised adults, especially the aging population, is critical to mitigating the public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study concludes by providing recommendations to enhance vaccine and booster uptake in this population, as the pandemic continues...

PURPOSE: The menstrual health and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) of incarcerated women remains relatively low on the agenda of public health interventions globally, widening the inequitable access of incarcerated women to safe and readily available menstrual health products (MHP). The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted on the MHM gains made in various development sectors in the global North and South, through its amplification of vulnerability for already at-risk populations...

PURPOSE: Prisons can be epicentres of infectious diseases. However, empirical evidence on the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in prison is still scarce. This study aims to estimate the seroprevalence rates of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the largest and most crowded Swiss prison and compare them with the seroprevalence rate in the general population. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020, one month after the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland...

PURPOSE: Penal institutions affect their inmates' mental as well as physical health. Prisoners have higher rates of physical health conditions than the public. While it is known that psychosocial factors determine patients' quality of life, little research has focused on factors related to prisoners' psychophysical quality of life (PQoL). The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of prisoners' PQoL. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The sample consisted of 390 prisoners recruited from correctional facilities administered by the Warsaw District Inspectorate of Prisons...

PURPOSE: This study aims to highlight how easy it is for immigrants to break Italian law because of the country's inadequate cultural and linguistic mediation service. Insufficiencies in this service also have a negative impact on both the psychological and physical health of migrant prisoners. Furthermore, Italian is used in legal disputes and prison, and reference is made to Italian culture, preventing migrants from understanding their position regarding the law. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This report concerns the psychological discomfort of migrant incarcerated individuals within Italian prisons due to national laws in force...

PURPOSE: Using a seven-day cycle menu and commissary items at a rural county jail, this study aims to describe provisions of micronutrients known to be associated with mental health disorders and if they meet dietary guidelines. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The nutritional content of a seven-day cycle menu and four available commissary food packs were evaluated using NutritionCalc® Plus software (McGraw-Hill Education version 5.0.19) and compared to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)...

PURPOSE: Young incarcerated male offenders are at risk of poorer sexual health, adolescent parenthood and lack opportunities for formative relationship and sexuality education (RSE) as well as positive male role models. The purpose of this paper is to report the process of co-production and feasibility testing of a novel, gender-transformative RSE programme with young male offenders to encourage positive healthy relationships, gender equality, and future positive fatherhood. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Using a rights-based participatory approach, the authors co-produced an RSE programme with young offenders and service providers at two UK prison sites using a sequential research design of: needs analysis, co-production and a feasibility pilot...

PURPOSE: Compassionate release is a process that allows for the early release or parole of some incarcerated people of advanced age, with life-limiting illness, complex medical care needs or significant functional decline. Despite the expansion of State and Federal compassionate release programs, this mechanism for release remains underutilized. Health-care professionals are central to the process of recommending compassionate release, but few resources exist to support these efforts...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the literature surrounding dementia in the aging correctional population and assess the role of cognitive screening related to dementia detection within corrections. The literature regarding the role of dementia within the justice continuum is scant. Furthermore, correctional health researchers have not reached a consensus on the best age to administer cognitive screening in older persons or prioritizes a screening tool for the early detection of dementia...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to systematically review literature to investigate trends in compassionate release policies, facility implementation, barriers at both the incarcerated individual and institutional levels, as well as gaps in the literature. The absence of uniform and appropriate policies to address suitable interventions at the end-of-life has aggravated the challenges and issues facing health-care systems within a correctional facility. A response to address and alleviate these barriers is policies related to compassionate release, a complex route that grants eligible inmates the opportunity to die in their community...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical overview of compassionate release policies in the USA and describe how these policies have been used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors then describe how these programs have been shaped by COVID-19 and could be reimagined to address the structural conditions that make prisons potentially life limiting for older adults and those with chronic illness. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This paper is primarily descriptive, offering an overview of the history of compassionate release policies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic...

PURPOSE: The USA has a rapidly aging prison population that, combined with their poorer health and living conditions, is at extreme risk for COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to compare COVID-19 mortality trends in the US prison population and the general population to see how mortality risk changed over the course of the pandemic. The authors first provide a national overview of trends in COVID-19 mortality; then, the authors assess COVID-19 deaths among older populations using more detailed data from one US state...

PURPOSE: Smoking rates are known to be higher amongst those committed to prison than the general population. Those in prison suffer from high rates of comorbidities that are likely to increase their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), making it more difficult to manage. In 2016, a tobacco ban began to be implemented across prisons in England and Wales, UK. This study aims to measure the effect of the tobacco ban on predicted cardiovascular risk for those quitting smoking on admission to prison...

PURPOSE: This study aims to characterize the June 2020 COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin California State Prison and to describe what made San Quentin so vulnerable to uncontrolled transmission. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the profound health harms of carceral settings, such that nearly half of state prisons reported COVID-19 infection rates that were four or more times (and up to 15 times) the rate found in the state's general population...