NCJ Number
139159
Date Published
1992
Length
258 pages
Annotation
Based on a survey and literature review, this study examines inmate health care in the prisons of Western and Eastern Europe as well as Canada.
Abstract
To collect information on health problems and responses in prisons, a questionnaire was developed in preparation for the European Seminar on Prison Health: Goals, Standards, Ethics, held in Tampere on September 24-27, 1991, and distributed to member States of the Council of Europe. Following the seminar, the same questionnaire was sent to East European countries. The literature review was limited to materials in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. This report first summarizes responses to the questionnaire, as it identifies the main health problems in European prison systems. Survey responses identified substance abuse, mental health, and communicable diseases as the major health problems among inmates. The report then describes the pattern of responding to these prison health problems by indicating the prevalent approaches and practices as well as recent changes and discernable trends in inmate health care. Changes that are occurring pertain to making inmate health service independent of the prison administration, so medical professionals are relieved of security and disciplinary duties that may interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. In most nations, however, medical officers remain part of the prison administration. This report provides examples of solutions to particular problems that have proven effective in various countries. Other topics discussed are the availability of health care, prisoners' access to health care, research that involves inmates, and standard-setting in prison health. Appended questionnaire and a list of international standard-setting instruments on prison health and 12 tables