Despite the dissemination of principles of medical ethics in prisons, formulated and advocated by numerous international organizations, health care professionals in prisons all over the world continue to infringe these principles because of perceived or real dual loyalty to patients and prison authorities. Health care professionals and nonmedical prison staff need greater awareness of and train...

BACKGROUND There is evidence for higher morbidity among prison inmates than in the general population. Despite this, patient satisfaction with the prison health services is scarcely investigated. The aim of the present study was to investigate patient satisfaction with prison health services in Norway and to analyze possible patient and service effects. METHODS The survey took part in 29 pris...

The role of the prison has changed, in some ways dramatically, over the last two decades. The prison population has grown and its composition has altered. There has been an increase in the depth and weight of imprisonment, and a hardening of its emotional tone. Prisoners' voices have been silenced, outcomes have deteriorated, and yet public presentation of the prison has improved. Power has shi...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) is elevated within prison populations, yet diagnosis in prisons remains low. Dried blood spot testing (DBST) is a simple procedure for the detection of HCV antibodies; its impact on testing in the prison context is unknown. METHODS We carried out a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized control trial of DBST for HCV among prisoners within five male pri...

BACKGROUND Peer interventions involving prisoners in delivering peer education and peer support in a prison setting can address health need and add capacity for health services operating in this setting. This paper reports on a qualitative synthesis conducted as part of a systematic review of prison-based peer interventions. One of the review questions aimed to investigate the positive and nega...

The conditions experienced by people in custody in the UK have received considerable attention recently and there has been considerable debate concerning the standards of healthcare in British prisons. The Prison Health Care Service works under great pressure and difficulties and doctors have to deal with a large and ever-changing population, often with mental and physical disorders, who are fr...

Epidemiological assessment of the prison population globally shows undeniable health need, with research evidence consistently demonstrating that the prevalence of ill health is higher than rates reported in the wider community. Since a meeting convened by the World Health Organisation in the mid-1990s, prisons have been regarded as legitimate settings for health promotion and a myriad of inter...

This article focuses on the evolution of prison library services in the United States and the changes in the roles and purposes of prison libraries over the last two centuries. The development of standards and guidelines for prison libraries under the leadership of the American Library Association and the American Correctional Association is discussed. The characteristics of the offender popula...

The provision of education that is both effective and relevant to the needs of students within prison is challenging on a number of levels. The uniqueness of prison culture with a regime characterised by a focus on security measures such as lock-downs and head counts constrains the possibilities for learning. The absence of a supportive learning environment together with an emphasis on punishme...

BACKGROUND The number of suicides in prison has increased over recent years. This is the first study to describe the clinical care of a national sample of prison suicides. AIMS To describe the clinical and social circumstances of self-inflicted deaths among prisoners. METHOD A national clinical survey based on a 2-year sample of self-inflicted deaths in prisoners. Detailed clinical and soci...