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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:51 am
Time: 11:51 am
Results for inmates (new zealand)
1 results foundAuthor: National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability (National Health Committee) Title: Review of Research on the Effects of Imprisonment on the Health of Inmates and their Families Summary: Around the developed world, a growing and changing prison population has given rise to renewed interest in the effects of incarceration on the health of inmates. This is a population with many complex and often co-morbid health needs, and the difficulty in separating and determining causal links has led many to conclude that health needs are „imported‟ by inmates rather than being a product of their experience of incarceration. The truth is almost certainly a combination. Prisoners comprise a number of more vulnerable population groups such as young people, older people, people with intellectual or physical impairments, women, and Māori and Pacific people (both overrepresented among the prison population). Each group has particular health vulnerabilities and needs which must be met within an institutional environment designed, by and large, for adult men of European descent who are „sound‟ in „mind and body‟. Although prison is sometimes a setting for health improvement, the environment is in many ways a severe risk to the prisoner and to his or her family. Suicide and self-harm can be more likely among inmates. Mental health problems and addictions are prevalent and often co-morbid in prisons. Prisoners are at far greater risk of death immediately after release, supporting the view that the health of prisoners must be treated within a broader context which incorporates connections with family and continuity of care from community to prison and back to community. Communicable diseases and the behaviours that spread them are commonly developed within the prison environment. The conditions of prison can exacerbate deterioration in older prisoners and those with pre-existing health conditions. Evidence suggests that the emotional and psychological pressures of incarceration; health issues in their own right; are also linked to the development of many chronic conditions. The experiences of life within the custodial world can also be psychologically damaging – triggering memories of past trauma or abuse, inspiring behavioural adaptations (hyper-vigilance, secretiveness, aggression, and so on) that translate poorly into family life, and undermine the prisoner‟s roles in the family and community and ultimately, their identity. The families and children of inmates suffer from a range of factors associated with both the removal and the re-entry of a family member. Financial pressures and deterioration of social ties while a partner is incarcerated can lead to significant psychological strain for parent and children alike. For children, poor outcomes that have been linked with the imprisonment of a parent include behavioural problems such as aggression, hyperactivity and delinquency; mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem; and developmental problems such as regression and difficulty in school. Incarceration has been shown to have a deleterious effect on vulnerable communities, in which erosion of social networks and social capital are incorporated into a cycle – often intergenerational – of criminality, reduced life chances and imprisonment. Large gaps remain in the body of research, notably collection of basic health status and health needs, benchmarking to evaluate improvement and information sharing among agencies and between agencies and health professionals. Furthermore, due to an overwhelming assumption that health issues are completely imported, the question of the health effects of prison is not being adequately addressed anywhere in the world. Although there are many omissions in the international literature, the most glaring include the impact of imprisonment on oral health, the quantification of physical injuries in prisons, the effects on or deterioration of (existing) disabilities including vision and hearing and the medical impacts on the children and families of inmates. All of these are also missing from local information. There are also many debates New Zealand is failing to engage in. These include: the experience of imprisonment; the collateral consequences of incarceration and its effect on the children, families and communities of prisoners; the experience and effects of home detention; the influence prison has during different developmental stages and the implications for categorisation, legislation and penal design; the experience of elderly prisoners and the needs of the greying prison population; the rate of violence, bullying and sexual abuse in New Zealand prisons; the experience and health needs of prison staff; the post-release experience - including mortality - and the health and service delivery outcomes for prisoners with disabilities. Details: Wellington, NZ: National Health Committee, 2008?. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 11, 2011 at: http://www.nhc.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagescm/7506/$File/prisoner-health-review-aug08.pdf Year: 2008 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.nhc.health.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagescm/7506/$File/prisoner-health-review-aug08.pdf Shelf Number: 120973 Keywords: DisabilityHealth CareInmates (New Zealand)Mental HealthPrisoners |