Assessment of Satisfaction with Health Services among Prisoners—Descriptive Study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the access of prisoners to healthcare services, as well as the level of satisfaction with the provided services and health assessment among prisoners. Methods: The research was conducted in one of the penitentiary centers in Poland among people jailed between 1 January to 31 January 2020. The response rate of the self-administrated questionnaire was 52.05% (469/901) participants. There were 389 men and 77 women. Results: Prisoners assessed access to health services including GP doctors, specialist doctors, dentists, and hospitals in 3 categories: “bad” ranged: 27.03–67.60%; “medium” ranged: 22.54–53.57%; “good” ranged: 7.02–33.96% depending on the type of arrest, but no statistical significance was demonstrated. Satisfaction with the health services defined as “bad” ranged: 25.00–61.11%; “medium” ranged: 18.97–55.56%; “good” ranged: 5.56–34.62% depending on the type of arrest but no statistical significance was demonstrated. Of 469 prisoners, 215 prisoners (45.84%) declared no addictions. The frequency of addiction does not differ depending on the place/type of punishment served (p = 0.9). In turn, 317 prisoners (68%) declared no chronic diseases. Conclusions: Most of the prisoners described access to health services as “bad”, except female prisoners from a semi-open facility. In turn, satisfaction with healthcare services was most often assessed as “bad”, except for temporarily arrested men and female prisoners from a semi-open facility.

Former Incarceration, Time Served, and Perceived Oral Health among African American Women and Men

“…Of the studies inclusive of the carceral world, incarcerated people generally experience poorer oral health than nonincarcerated people [31,32]. One contributing factor is that those who are imprisoned struggle accessing quality healthcare, which includes oral healthcare [18,20,33]. Research shows there is a general lack of dental care and support in penal facilities for currently incarcerated people [31,[34][35][36][37].…”

“…Said differently, incarcerated women are generally less likely to have their healthcare needs met, and this gender disadvantage is worse for women of color [43]. Poorer access to treatment and worse quality of care on average leads incarcerated women to hold more negative views of the treatment they receive while in prison [33,42]. Lack of proper oral healthcare has immediate and long-term ramifications.…”

Oral Findings in Male Prisoners: A Systematic Review

“…According to statistical data, most prisoners are in the United States (nearly 2.1 million people in prisons), followed by China, Brazil, India, and the Russian Federation. The number of prisoners per 100,000 people in the world varies significantly, with 37 in Japan, 70 in Germany, 91 in Austria, 129 in Estonia, 190 in Poland, 253 in Georgia, 347 in Turkey, 580 in Rwanda, and 629 in the United States [ 1 ]. In the Polish penitentiary system, there are 87 prisons and 34 external units of different types, which, together, provide a capacity for 83,000 prisoners.…”