Health status of the prisoners in a central jail of south India

Abstract

Background:Health care in prisons is one of the neglected health areas in our country. Looking into the health problems of prisons will show us a way for the approach in providing the heath care for prisoners.Objectives:To assess the health status of convicted inmates of prison and to study their sociodemographic profile.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among the inmates of central prison over a period of 1 year. Study population comprised of 300 convicted life-term prisoners. The inmates were interviewed using predesigned and pretested proforma. Sociodemographic data were analyzed by frequencies and percentages along with 95% confidence interval using statistical package SPSS18.Results:In health status, 29 (9.6%) inmates suffered from acute upper respiratory tract infections and 15 (5%) from acute lower respiratory tract infections. A total of 54 (18%) inmates had ascariasis. Diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue contributed to 26 (8.7%) of inmates. A total of 252 (84%) prisoners had anemia. In sociodemographic profile, it was found that rural people, unmarried, illiterates, lower socioeconomic status people were more likely to have committed the crime resulting in the conviction for life.Conclusions:As there is an increase in number of prisoners and morbidities among them, there is an urgent need for prison health care services in developing countries like India and provide training to the health care providers to manage the commonly existing health problems among prisoners in the prisons.

Prevalência de hepatite B e fatores associados em internos de sistema prisional

“…These findings are related to their demographic, social and behavioral characteristics. (3,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) The low frequency of history of vaccination against hepatitis B was below the expected, considering that the implementation of a vaccination program is a goal of the PNSSP, and an international recommendation. (1,6,16) Low vaccination coverage in prisons and, therefore, the high number of individuals susceptible to infection, are common and confirm the need to ensure access to health services, education programs, and implementation of vaccination programs to prevent HBV infection in prisons.…”

Retrospective Autopsy Study of Custodial Deaths in Rajindra Hospital (GMC) Patiala

“…The greater number of male custodial deaths world over suggests that male population is much more involved in different kind of criminal activities and consequently to be present in large numbers in jails. According to National Crime Records Bureau, Prison Statics India 2015, out of a total of 1584 deaths in jails reported in the year 2015, only 51 were female inmates and the rest 1533 were male inmates indicating very high custodial male mortality compared to females [14].…”

“…Overcrowding has become a serious problem for the correctional administration in India. There are about 1276 prisons with accommodation capacity of 2.8 lakh, however the total number of inmates is around 4 lakh [14]. Overcrowding has serious impacts on prisoners' health.…”

A review on prisoners health: a neglected group

“…Wilper et al in 2009 done a study in United States and found that 38.5% of the inmates from federal prisons, 42.8% of the inmates from state prisons and 38.7% of the inmates from local jails are suffering from a chronic medical condition. 9 In 2013 Kumar et al found that 29 inmates suffered from acute upper respiratory tract infections (URI), 15 inmates suffered from acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRI), 54 inmates had ascariasis, 26 inmates had diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue and of 252 inmates had anaemia 10 . Another study done in India by Fotedar et al in 2016 showed that 71.8% of the study population had dental caries and 54.9% of the study inmates had calculus.…”