Complex health-related needs among young, soon-to-be released prisoners

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Author(s)
van Dooren, Kate
Richards, Alun
Lennox, Nicholas G.
Kinner, Stuart
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2013
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Background To estimate the prevalence and co-occurrence of health-related needs among young people aged 18 to 24 years transitioning out of adult prisons. Methods Data came from face-to-face, confidential interviews with adult prisoners aged 18-24 years in seven adult prisons in Queensland, Australia. We identified the prevalence and co-occurrence of overlapping health-related needs using an Australian health performance framework with four domains: physical health, mental health, risky substance use and socioeconomic disadvantage. Results Most young prisoners experience multiple and complex health problems prior to their ...
View more >Background To estimate the prevalence and co-occurrence of health-related needs among young people aged 18 to 24 years transitioning out of adult prisons. Methods Data came from face-to-face, confidential interviews with adult prisoners aged 18-24 years in seven adult prisons in Queensland, Australia. We identified the prevalence and co-occurrence of overlapping health-related needs using an Australian health performance framework with four domains: physical health, mental health, risky substance use and socioeconomic disadvantage. Results Most young prisoners experience multiple and complex health problems prior to their release: 98% of young prisoners reported at least one indicator of poor health, and 30% reported at least one indicator of poor health in all four evaluated domains. Conclusions Young people in adult prisons report a high prevalence of health problems across multiple domains. Addressing these complex needs will require coordinated service delivery across health-related sectors both in custody and after release.
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View more >Background To estimate the prevalence and co-occurrence of health-related needs among young people aged 18 to 24 years transitioning out of adult prisons. Methods Data came from face-to-face, confidential interviews with adult prisoners aged 18-24 years in seven adult prisons in Queensland, Australia. We identified the prevalence and co-occurrence of overlapping health-related needs using an Australian health performance framework with four domains: physical health, mental health, risky substance use and socioeconomic disadvantage. Results Most young prisoners experience multiple and complex health problems prior to their release: 98% of young prisoners reported at least one indicator of poor health, and 30% reported at least one indicator of poor health in all four evaluated domains. Conclusions Young people in adult prisons report a high prevalence of health problems across multiple domains. Addressing these complex needs will require coordinated service delivery across health-related sectors both in custody and after release.
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Journal Title
Health and Justice
Volume
1
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© van Dooren et al.; licensee Springer. 2013. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Subject
Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified
Public Health and Health Services
Criminology