Measuring health service satisfaction: female inmates

Abstract

This study examines female inmates’ utilisation of and satisfaction with provision of health services, based on data from the 1996 New South Wales (Australia) Inmate Health Survey. Particular variables – indigenous status, mean age, age range, and education level – were analysed for factors associated with satisfaction with provision of health services. Further analysis indicated that for nine outcomes, correctional centre location was the only statistically significant indicator of satisfaction with various aspects of health‐care provision. Three factors – correctional centre location, indigenous status, and age group – were associated with being satisfied with health care received during a woman’s last prison doctor consultation. This study’s most important finding – that correctional centre location was associated with inmates’ satisfaction with health care services in gaol – has implications for governments regarding physical access to health services, and for ensuring services meet inmates’ needs at each correctional centre location.