Outcome Measure Epidemiological of Female Inmates in West Amazon, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: the prison system in the Brazilian state of Acre, located in the Western region of the Amazon, is a branch of the criminal justice system that has been suffering from issues such as overcrowding and growth in internal organized crime. The prevalence of these matters directly affects the resocialization of prisoners and inhibits the successful re-engineering of their social values and beliefs. Objective: to analyze the epidemiological profile of jailed women in the State of Acre, Brazil. Methods: in a cross-sectional descriptive study, 129 participants were recruited from female penitentiaries in the state of Acre. Conducted between August and December of 2017, data was collected through a validated questionnaire, divided into modules, using both open and closed-ended items. Results: we found that most women who participated in the study were single (n = 86, 66.7%), had brown skin (n = 93, 72.1%), had children (n=102, 79.1%), resided in the state of Acre (n=117, 90.5%). The mean age of the sample was 27.69 years. Among those participants who reported having partners (n = 40, 31%), we found that half had partners who were also incarcerated (n = 20, 50%). The study results also indicate that drug trafficking (n = 86, 66.7%) was the major cause for female incarceration, followed by homicide crime (n = 16, 12.4%). Over half of the participants were in prison for the first time (n = 75, 58.1%), with a high recidivism rate observed in the total sample (n = 54, 41.9%). A majority of the participants (n = 97, 75.2%) kept in touch with members of their families and a smaller portion (n = 15, 11.6%) received conjugal visits. With regard to social activities, slightly more than half (n = 75, 58.1%) worked and the majority (n = 114, 88.4%) did not study while jailed. Conclusion: the difficulties associated with accessing inmate data and the lack of peer-reviewed studies on inmate health in Brazil suggests that the public policies recommended by the PNSSP and the National Policy for Comprehensive Health Care for Women should be reevaluated.