Ageing Prisoners' Disease Burden: Is Being Old a Better Predictor than Time Served in Prison?

Abstract

Background: The number of older prisoners entering and ageing in prison has increased in the last few decades. Ageing prisoners pose unique challenges to the prison administration as they have differentiated social, custodial and healthcare needs than prisoners who are younger and relatively healthier. Objective: The goal of this study was to explore and compare the somatic disease burden of old and young prisoners, and to examine whether it can be explained by age group and/or time served in prison. Methods: Access to prisoner medical records was granted to extract disease and demographic information of older (>50 years) and younger (≤49 years) prisoners in different Swiss prisons. Predictor variables included the age group and the time spent in prison. The dependent variable was the total number of somatic diseases as reported in the medical records. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics and a negative binomial model. Results: Data of 380 male prisoners from 13 different prisons in Switzerland reveal that the mean ages of older and younger prisoners were 58.78 and 34.26 years, respectively. On average, older prisoners have lived in prison for 5.17 years and younger prisoners for 2.49 years. The average total number of somatic diseases reported by older prisoners was 2.26 times higher than that of prisoners below 50 years of age (95% CI 1.77-2.87, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind to capture national disease data of prisoners with a goal of comparing the disease burden of older and younger prisoners. Study findings indicate that older inmates suffer from more somatic diseases and that the number of diseases increases with age group. Results clearly illustrate the poorer health conditions of those who are older, their higher healthcare burden, and raises questions related to the provision of healthcare for inmates growing old in prison.

Avoiding the Runaround: The Link Between Cultural Health Capital and Health Management Among Older Prisoners*

“…Because the study was designed to capture the health-related experiences of older prisoners, participants were required to be at least 50 years of age. This threshold was selected to be consistent with most studies that have been focused on the well-being of older prisoners (see Loeb and AbuDagga, 2006, for a review; see also Baidawi and Trotter, 2016;Iftene, 2017;Kerbs and Jolley, 2007;Trotter and Baidawi, 2015;Wangmo et al, 2015). Most researchers operationalize older inmates with a lower threshold than would be used in community settings because research findings suggest that prisoners experience hastened physiological aging, meaning that their aging is accelerated in comparison with their community-dwelling counterparts by approximately 10 to 15 years (see Aday, 2003;Chodos et al, 2014;Loeb, Steffensmeier, and Lawrence, 2008;Williams et al, 2012).…”

“…This is consistent with the existing literature. Most scholars report high frequencies of multimorbidity among older male prisoners, with the majority reporting means between two and three chronic health conditions at any given time (Aday, 2003;Harzke et al, 2010;Loeb and Steffensmeier, 2006;Nowotny et al, 2016;Wangmo et al, 2015;Williams et al, 2010Williams et al, , 2012.…”

Prisons should mirror society: the debate on age-segregated housing for older prisoners

“…In light of their increasing numbers, three broad groups of older prisoners are identified: (a) those who entered prison at a young age and have aged there; (b) those who entered prison in old age and will further age and die there; and (c) those that move in and out of the prison system (Crawley and Sparks 2006; Neeley and Addision 1997). Available studies on older prisoners' health note their higher disease burden when compared to younger prisoners (Fazel and Baillargeon 2011; Fazel et al 2001; Wangmo et al 2015). The ageing of the prison population, as well as their increasing numbers, heterogeneity and high disease burden, exert additional health-care costs on strained prison resources.…”

An exploration of the support provided by prison staff, education, health and social care professionals, and prisoners for prisoners with dementia

“…Prisoners with dementia create unique challenges and burdens for prison staff, education, health and social care professionals and fellow prisoners (Wangmo, et al 2015). Challenges include supporting prisoners with dementia in a regime that is restrictive (Gaston, 2018), and in an environment which prisoners with dementia have difficulty navigating (Brown, 2014).…”