Prison Population Research Articles (Page 1)

Background Marginalised and socially excluded groups face discrimination, multiple health risk factors, and barriers to accessing care, leading to poor health outcomes and substantial inequalities.Aim This scoping review synthesises evidence on the oral health of socially vulnerable populations in the United Kingdom, including people experiencing homelessness, prisoners, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, looked-after children, sex workers, and asylum seekers and refugees.Methods A systematic search of quantitative studies published between January 2000 and December 2021 was conducted, including clinical and subjective measures of oral health, as well as oral health-related behaviours and dental service use. Peer-reviewed articles were searched using Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, PubMed, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Grey literature was also included.Results Of the 22 included studies, most focused on homeless and prisoner populations. Overall, studies reported a high prevalence of caries (61-67%), periodontal disease (56-92%), and poor self-reported oral health (71-87%), as well as overall low and mainly symptomatic dental attendance. Studies were predominantly local and based on small samples. The search did not identify any publications for sex workers, asylum seekers and refugees.Conclusions Socially vulnerable groups in the United Kingdom experience significant oral health inequalities. There is a need for more comprehensive research and targeted policies to address these inequalities.

Women are a growing population in prisons in Canada. When women leave prison, community-based organizations (CBOs) can provide immediate material resources, and facilitate connection to healthcare and other services. We conducted an environmental scan of CBOs that support women leaving prison in order to identify potential gaps in service delivery, and identified 86 CBOs distributed across ten provinces, with a lack of services in rural areas and a general lack of housing. The rapid growth in the incarceration of women has not been met with an investment in CBOs. We call for an investment in, and increased attention towards, community-based housing as both a reentry service and an alternative to incarceration.

ABSTRACT The presence of people with mental illnesses in prisons is well-documented. However, the relationship between mental illness and aggressive behaviour within prison environments remains insufficiently understood. This study aims to examine the differences in aggression and psychopathic traits among three groups: prisoners with mental illness (PMI), prisoners with no mental illness (PNMI), and a community population group (CP). The sample comprised 165 adult males (18-65 years; M = 41.64, SD = 9.71), recruited from a Spanish prison and a community setting. Our results showed that within the prison population, the PMI subgroup scored significantly higher on various aggression subscales, including physical aggression, anger, and hostility, compared to the PNMI subgroup. Additionally, the PMI group exhibited greater impulsive aggression compared to the CP group. Regression analyses revealed a stronger association between psychopathic traits and aggression in the PMI group than in the other groups. These findings highlight that PMI show lower resilience and more pronounced psychopathic traits; in this context, these traits are associated with higher levels of aggression.

ABSTRACT We investigated the existence of a “ deception‐general ” ability (association between the ability to produce and detect lies) in 140 individuals (80 from prison and 60 from the general community) using the Deceptive Interaction Task (DeceIT). Deception production ( d' Sender) and detection ( d' Receiver) indexes were comparatively analyzed within Signal Detection Theory. Results revealed weak evidence for a deception‐general ability in the community sample, but not in the prison sample. Both groups exhibited similar truth biases. In the prison sample, lie detection accuracy was negatively correlated with the Dark Factor (and its themes), lie acceptability, and additional aversive traits (Psychopathy, Aggression, Alexithymia), measured only in prison. Lie production only showed a negative correlation with Alexithymia (Difficulties Describing Feelings), measured only in the prison sample. These findings suggest limited evidence for a deception‐general ability in the community, while in prison, aversive traits may undermine accurate lie detection. Implications for interrogation and rehabilitation are discussed.

This study aims to analyze the predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms among prisoners in Ceará, Brazil, comparing the LGBTQIA+ and cisgender heterosexual groups. This is a cross-sectional study conducted in all prison units in the state of Ceará, Brazil, from May to September 2022 with 2,097 participants, of which 1,756 were cisgender heterosexuals and 341 LGBTQIA+ individuals. Predictor variables were categorized into individual, social, and programmatic vulnerabilities based on a framework and the outcome were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using the JAMOVI statistical software. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee under protocol number 5.379.780. Anxiety symptoms were higher (74.5% vs. 73.2%) among the cisgender heterosexual prisoners and depressive symptoms higher (76.7% vs. 75.3%) in the LGBTQIA+ prison population, with no statistical difference between the two groups. Significant associations were found between anxiety, depression, and individual, social, and programmatic vulnerabilities in the incarcerated population. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the vulnerabilities which the prison population is exposed, identifying factors that may influence mental health-related outcomes in this population. Such insights aim to support interventions to improve these groups' mental health indicators.

Objectives: Review the epidemiology of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and the main diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, with a specific focus on its management in the prison population. Material and method: MASLD is the most prevalent form of chronic liver disease worldwide and represents an increasing challenge for public health and healthcare systems. Prison inmates are particularly vulnerable to this condition due to a combination of individual and social factors and to characteristics within the correctional system itself. These vulnerabilities have contributed to an epidemiological transition, whereby metabolic comorbidities have replaced transmittable diseases as the main cause of morbimortality, Conclusions: The growing burden of metabolic disease in correctional settings underscores the urgent need for effective screening and referral strategies for early MASLD detection. However, current protocols remain poorly defined, and there is limited evidence regarding their cost-effectiveness in this specific context. These gaps highlight the pressing need for further research and the development of public health policies tailored to the unique characteristics of this high-risk population.

Objectives: Spain has one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe, and its prison population shows a significantly higher prevalence of mental illness and toxic substances use disorder compared to the general population. Despite this, there is a lack of studies focused on mental disorders in Spanish prisons. This study aims to explore the differences between Spanish and foreign persons deprived of liberty with severe mental disorders. Material and method: We evaluated the sociodemographic (Spanish vs. foreign) and clinical characteristics of 106 persons deprived of liberty admitted to a Spanish prison module for psychiatric decompensation between 2009 and 2022. Results: Immigrants represent 51.9% of the sample, predominantly young unmarried males, primarily admitted for suicidal behavior (43.6%). Compared to Spaniards, they have fewer psychiatric histories and less mental health follow-up in the previous six months. In contrast, Spanish inmates are older, have higher rates of bipolar disorder and personality disorders, and receive more psychotropic prescriptions. They also present with more cardiovascular risk factors and physical comorbidities. Discussion and conclusions: Foreign incarcerated person are overrepresented in psychiatric admissions and are particularly vulnerable to suicidal behavior. Social precarity likely accounts for some of the differences observed compared to the native population.

The female prison population in Brazil has increased in recent decades, highlighting the weaknesses of the penitentiary system and the challenges of rehabilitation. Marked by overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and the lack of effective reintegration policies, female prisons reflect historical inequalities of gender, class, and race. Although the law recognizes the need for differentiated treatment for women, in practice, inmates suffer a double punishment: for the crime committed and for violating social norms imposed by patriarchy. This bibliographic study analyzes the profile of incarcerated women, living conditions in prisons, and the shortcomings of the Brazilian penal system in promoting rehabilitation, offering reflections on public policies that prioritize dignity, education, health, and social reintegration. Furthermore, it seeks to understand how factors such as motherhood, family abandonment and lack of opportunities reduce the cycle of criminal recidivism, highlighting the urgency of integrated actions between the State and civil society to implement human rights and guarantee true post-prison inclusion.

Prison was born in modern times in order to humanize the State’s list of sanctions. In Brazil, however, custodial institutions have historically coexisted with human rights violations. Given the current relevance of this theme, this article seeks to answer the following research problem: to what extent does the Brazilian prison population configure itself as a sovereign flock in light of the biopolitical perspective unveiled by Foucauldian and Agambenian philosophies? The hypothesis, finally corroborated, identifies prison as a mechanism of deprivation of human rights by subjecting bodies and lives to the relation of the sovereign flock. The text is structured in two sections and aims, respectively, to analyze the sovereign flock in the Brazilian prison system as a portrayal of the banality of evil; and to reflect on the institutional and social affirmation and enforcement of human rights through the profanation of human nakedness resulting from sovereign abandonment. The methodology contemplates the phenomenological-hermeneutic method, the qualitative approach, the basic nature, the exploratory objective and the bibliographical and documental procedures. Keywords: biopolitics; human rights; unconstitutional state of affairs; prison; criminal justice system.

Judicial activism has generated intense debates about its scope and limits within constitutional democracies, especially in Latin America. This article examines the Peruvian experience, where the Constitutional Court has developed a practice that directly influences the configuration and reform of public policies. Through the analysis of five emblematic judgments – on prison overcrowding, the right to identity, public health, family planning and a gender perspective – the ways in which judicial activism has operated as a corrective mechanism in the face of legislative and administrative omissions are evidenced. The study, with a qualitative and hermeneutical approach, argues that the judicial action has had a positive impact, contributing to the effective guarantee of fundamental rights. Likewise, a comparative analysis is carried out with the cases of Colombia, Spain and the European Court of Human Rights, with the aim of identifying criteria that guide legitimate judicial activism that respects the democratic principle.

Abstract Cash bail has traditionally been used in the United States to prevent defendants from failing to appear in court and from committing additional crimes prior to their hearing. Yet, the inability to afford cash bail has contributed to the expansion of the jail and prison population in the United States. Meanwhile, activists continue to question the efficacy of cash bail to achieve the goals of reducing failure to appear and re-arrest rates. Activists also have suggested that cash bail may negatively impact the health and well-being of defendants and may disproportionately affect individuals based on their race, ethnicity, and gender. The present study synthesized recent empirical literature on cash bail to help determine the effects of cash bail. Results indicate cash bail is mostly ineffective at reducing failure to appear and re-arrest rates. Based on results from the included studies, cash bail also has harsher consequences for Black, Hispanic, and male defendants than White and female defendants. Further, early evidence suggests cash bail negatively harms the health and well-being of defendants. Implications for the future of cash bail and possible alternatives are discussed.

Introduction: Health is a right for everyone and a duty of the State, also ensured for people deprived of liberty. In the prison system, nursing plays a central role in health promotion and prevention, facing challenges such as overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and the social vulnerability of the incarcerated population. Objective: To analyze the role of the nurse in the prison system, highlighting care practices, health promotion and prevention, as well as the ethical and social challenges encountered in this context. Methodology: An integrative literature review was carried out using scientific articles published between 2020 and 2025 in the BVS, MEDLINE, LILACS, and BDENF databases, selecting studies that addressed nursing care for the prison population. Results: It is expected to identify effective health promotion and prevention practices, understand the structural and ethical limitations faced, and propose strategies for comprehensive, humane, and safe care for the incarcerated population. Conclusion: The analysis shows that nursing in the prison system plays an indispensable role in ensuring the right to health through promotion, prevention, and comprehensive care actions. However, the structural and ethical challenges present in this context require strategies that strengthen professional performance and consolidate humane, safe practices aligned with the principles of equity.

Prison population and digital participation can be a controversial topic. However, inmates that genuinely try to be reformed are rarely considered by the public in this debate. In Denmark the prison system has been singled out for the exemplary humane treatment of inmates and the focus on rehabilitation. Yet, despite the efforts for meaningful reform, digital infrastructure is not yet considered a crucial aspect of the reform process. In this paper, we have conducted interviews with 19 people: inmates, prison personnel and NGO representatives, and have carried out fieldwork in the Storstrøm and Nyborg closed prisons of Denmark. Based on this dataset, we have examined the current digital infrastructure of the prisons, showcased the prison teachers' work as infrastructural bricolage for the utilization of the digital infrastructure, and presented the relationship of the digital infrastructure with the physical and with security. Using the insights from this work we aspire to set the premise for future research towards a more purposeful prison reform.

Since the 1990s Uruguay has adopted a more repressive penal policy, which has led to a threefold increase in the prison population, with punitive measures taking precedence over alleged rehabilitation in a prison system in crisis, where overcrowding, violence and lockdown seem to be the norm. However, between 2012 and 2020, within this system, Penitentiary Unit No. 6 proposed a different concept of prison, aiming to make life behind bars as similar as possible to life in the neighbourhoods of Montevideo. More than simply allowing prisoners to circulate within the institution or creating their own productive businesses, this experience, through its ideological conception of social life, represents a resistance to the punitive prison system. In order to ‘look like the outside’, the institutional project does not rely on a specific architectural design but rather seeks to promote the construction of social life from a daily perspective, based on the constant interaction and negotiation between its inhabitants. Far from seeking to follow an imported model of a highly controlled, sanitised and standardised city, Unit 6 is based on a more local conception of the urban social life. Based on an ethnographic study in which the daily life of the Unit is examined, this article seeks to analyse why this experience, in terms of its ideological conception of social and urban life, represents an alternative to the punitive pattern of prison management and challenges the capitalist model of society that segregates and exploits the most disadvantaged populations.

Women and gender-diverse people are a fast-growing population in prisons in Australia. Incarceration can create barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. The objective of this scoping review was to identify what is known about the sexual and reproductive health experiences, needs and outcomes of women and gender-diverse people incarcerated in Australia. We used the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for systematic scoping reviews. Databases searched included PsycINFO, Gender Studies Database, MEDLINE and CINAHL. The search yielded 658 titles and abstracts of which 17 met the criteria for inclusion. We identified 17 studies published between 2000 and 2023 across three states. The studies included qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods designs. The main outcomes of interest included: pregnancy and maternal health, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, experiences of sexual violence, and cervical health screening and outcomes. Evidence indicates that women and gender-diverse populations in prison in Australia experience high rates of sexually transmitted infections, poor perinatal health outcomes, and unmet needs related to contraception access and perinatal health services and programmes. The negative health impacts of incarceration are especially pronounced for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women, who face additional discriminatory institutional barriers to participating in health programmes and experience a lack of culturally safe and appropriate care.

BackgroundPrisoners are considered a vulnerable group in terms of health risks and limited access to health services. This study aimed to determine the health perceptions and health-promoting behaviors of Turkish prisoners, examine the relationship between these factors, and identify the predictors of health perceptions and health-promoting behaviors as a cross-sectional design.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2023 and January 2024 with 234 prisoners convicted of criminal offenses in two open penal institutions in Eskişehir, Turkey. Data were collected using a sociodemographic information form, the Health Perception Scale, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II. Statistical analyses included Independent Samples t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis to identify the predictors of health perceptions and health-promoting behaviors.ResultsThe mean score of health perception among the prisoners was 51.43 ± 7.66, and the mean score of healthy lifestyle behaviors was 130.41 ± 26.90. A positive but weak correlation was found between health perception and healthy lifestyle behaviors (r = .319; p < .001).ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of evaluating prisoners’ health perceptions and health-related behaviors. Prison nurses are recommended to routinely assess these factors and implement targeted interventions to support healthy lifestyle changes in prison populations.

ntroduction: This study aimed to explore the policies and institutional factors influencing the fulfillment of prisoners’ sexual needs in Indonesia, particularly within the context of correctional health. With overcrowding in Indonesian prisons reaching as high as 370%, such as in the Class IIA Jember Penitentiary, and the lack of clear regulations addressing sexual rights, the objective was to examine behavioral drivers and systemic gaps using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework to address unmet needs and prevent deviant sexual behavior. The TPB guided a deductive thematic analysis. Attitudes were operationalized as participants’ beliefs about outcomes, subjective norms as perceived social approval or pressure, and perceived behavioral control as perceived capacity/resources to enact or resist sexual behavior. Methods: This exploratory qualitative study was conducted at the Class IIA Jember Correctional Facility in 2022. A total of 15 informants were recruited using a snowball sampling technique, including the Head of the Correctional Facility, prison officers, health workers, and inmates. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically with deductive approach. Transcripts underwent verbatim transcription, TPB-focused line-by-line coding, coding matrices, and credibility checks (independent double-coding and member validation).Ethical approval was obtained from 173/KEPK/FKM-UNEJ/IV/2022 and both verbal and written informed consent were secured from all participants. Results: The primary findings indicated that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control significantly influenced prisoners' intentions to engage in risky sexual behavior. Contributing factors included ambiguous regulations on sexual health education and inmate guidance, the suboptimal implementation of assimilation and reintegration policies, and the absence of a formal conjugal visit program. These regulatory shortcomings may increase the risk of sexually transmitted disease transmission within the prison environment. Conclusion: This study contributes to the understanding of sexual health policy implementation within Indonesian correctional institutions by identifying key regulatory and systemic deficiencies. It offers critical insights into how institutional support, or its absence, influences inmates’ health-related behaviors. Future research should focus on developing and implementing policies that safeguard prisoners’ sexual health rights, thereby advancing knowledge in the fields of correctional health and human rights.

The effectiveness of custodial sentences in crime prevention is one of the most relevant debates in contemporary criminal law, especially in the urban contexts of Latin America, where structural inequalities and prison overcrowding limit the impact of punitive policies. This study aimed to evaluate, through a systematic review under the PRISMA 2020 methodology, the available scientific evidence on the relationship between incarceration, recidivism and crime prevention. The search was carried out in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, identifying 36 initial documents and selecting 14 final articles that met the inclusion criteria: thematic relevance, quantitative or empirical approach and link with urban contexts. The results show that custodial sentences show limited effectiveness in reducing crime and recidivism, due to factors such as prison overcrowding, lack of reintegration programs and institutional weakness. It concludes that crime prevention in Latin America requires a comprehensive approach that combines punishment, rehabilitation, and social policies aimed at inclusion and equity, recognizing that incarceration alone does not guarantee a sustainable decrease in crime.

Aggression in prison populations by gender and security Level: An analysis using the personality assessment Inventory.

Abstract Background Mental health (MH) and substance use (SU) problems are prevalent in the prison population. People released have high rates of emergency service use, suicide, and SU-related deaths. Healthcare contacts are opportunities to provide MH/SU support that prevents more severe outcomes, but little is known about post-release contacts for MH/SU in Scotland. We aimed to compare post-release MH/SU contact rates to general population rates in a range of services. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Scottish linked administrative data. The cohort included all people released from Scottish prisons in 2015, and a randomly selected general population sample who were not in prison in the five years prior, and were matched on age, sex, postcode and area deprivation level. We used fixed-effects Poisson models with cluster-robust standard errors to estimate adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) for MH/SU contacts with community prescribing, outpatient, inpatient, and emergency services. We stratified models by MH, SU and dual-diagnosis (DD) and adjusted a 4-year follow-up for time-in-community and deaths. Models controlled for time-in-community pre/post-index date, pre-index MH/SU service contacts, and comorbidities. Results Post-release contact rates were higher in all services for MH, SU and DD compared to general population. aIRRs increased as services addressed more serious or urgent needs. Lowest aIRRs were community prescriptions (MH: 1.80[95% CI = 1.67-1.94], SU: 5.95[95% CI = 4.83-7.32], DD: 5.33[95% CI = 3.70-7.68]). The highest aIRR for MH was ambulance callouts (7.75[95% CI = 5.76-10.42]); SU was psychiatric inpatient care (10.64 [95% CI = 6.12-18.84]); and DD was general inpatient care (13.11[95% CI = 7.95-21.61]). Conclusions Despite elevated community contact rates, people released from prison had far higher emergency MH/SU contact rates. Enhanced access to appropriate post-release MH/SU care is urgently needed to improve individual and public health. Key messages • Imprisonment does nothing to reduce the health inequalities that drive a disproportionate contribution to population preventable death rates by people released from prison. • Post-imprisonment mental health and substance use services require urgent attention to increase access to effective early intervention.