Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 00:13, 15 May 2019

Prisoners in Australia are generally from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background, and often have higher rates of tobacco smoking, illicit drug use and alcohol consumption in comparison to the general public. The disadvantages in socioeconomic background consequently develop into a significant disparity in health between prisoners and the general public in Australia.

The health of prisoners is an ongoing issue in Australia that requires assessment, as the health status of prisoners project onto the society of Australia as a whole.???

History

Socioeconomic factors

Through research??????? on the relationship between socioeconomic factors and health and well-being, it is widely acknowledged that the correlation between socioeconomic factors to health and well-being is not limited to Australia, but accepted worldwide.

The lowest end of the socioeconomic group performs worse than the highest end of the socioeconomic group on almost all health measures. "On average, those in the lowest spectrum were far more likely to smoke daily. In 2013, 20% of those aged 14 and over in this group smoked daily, a rate 3 times that of people in the highest spectrum (6.7%)" (AIHW 2015? reference properly).

Common socioeconomic factors of prisoners in Australia that reflect onto health and well-being include cultural background, education and family relationships.

Cultural Background

The majority of prisoners in custody are born in Australia, at eighty-one percent. Three percent are born in New Zealand, two percent are born in Vietnam, two percent are born in the United Kingdom and the remaining eleven percent from other countries.????????????

Education

Research suggests that less education generally results in lower income, leading less resources being available to disadvantaged socioeconomic groups for a healthy lifestyle. "Education is one of the recognized social detriments to health, with lower levels of education being strongly associated with poorer health"., and where the majority of prisoners reside from the lower spectrum of the socioeconomic group, are exposed to a less healthier habit that may result in health complications.

Family

Medical conditions

Physical Health

There are numerous physical health conditions that arise for prisoners in Australia. As the majority of prisoners are generally from a disadvantaged socioeconomic group, they are exposed to unhealthy habits such as an unbalanced diet, cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and illicit drug abuse??????????????.

Such unhealthy lifestyle leads to numerous physical health conditions, and some of the most common health conditions include; asthma, arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and complications to oral health. There is a

Asthma

Asthma is common? How? Reference?

Asthma is a common respiratory disease among prisoners in Australia, and is frequently caused by contaminated prison conditions, such as airborne substances and inadequate health habits such as the smoking of tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption and illicit drug use. Nearly a quarter of male prisoners have been diagnosed with asthma (22%) and over a quarter of female prisoners have been diagnosed with asthma (31%). Asthma is also more prevalent in prisoners as age increases, with the exception of ages between 25 and 34, where asthma diagnosis rate is highest (29%).

There is no significant evidence of asthma being more prevalent in Indigenous Australians (25%) relative to Non-Indigenous Australians (23%).

Arthritis

Arthritis refers to numerous medical conditions that affect the joints, and although it is more frequent as age increases, anyone from any age group can develop a case of arthritis. Although it is one of the most common medical conditions that prisoners in Australia are diagnosed, it is unknown to researchers???? the predominant cause of arthritis in inmates. It is instead generally determined that heredity and environmental factors both affect the likelihood of developing a type of arthritis.

Just under one-fifth of female inmates are diagnosed with arthritis (18%), and it is twice as common in female prisoners than male inmates (9%). Also, Non-Indigenous prisoners (12%) are more likely than Indigenous prisoners (7%) to report having had a diagnosis of arthritis.  

Cancer

Hypertension

Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure is the single most common medical condition among prison inmates.

Oral Health

Oral health is a major health concern due to its incidence rate, and is more prevalent in disadvantaged socioeconomic groups. cite????? Complications of oral health within prison inmates are a recurrent condition, and "it is important to consider the wider social determinants of health when looking at treatment options" .

Infectious Diseases

Sexually Transmissible Infections

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that causes inflammation to the liver, and can be passed from person to person. "More than 300,000 Australians are estimated to have been exposed to HCV virus, of whom around 226,700 are living with chronic infection, including 16,000 Indigenous Australians". As for prison inmates, it is most frequently transmitted by illicit drug use, or specifically, needle sharing.

Mental Health

Self-harm

Health services

While the majority of Australians have access to free or subsidized healthcare through a universal health care system (Medicare) , prisoners in Australia are not granted medicare and are not granted access to free or subsidized healthcare.

Generally, nurses are predominantly the first line of contact for prisoners, whereas

This article, Prison healthcare in Australia, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary. Reviewer tools: Inform author

References

1. ^ The health of Australia's prisoners 2015. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2015. ISBN 978-1-74249-866-9.
2. Osborn, Mary (2003). "Oral health status of prison inmates - New South Wales, Australia". Australian Dental Journal. 48: 34–38.
3. Mokhlis, Michael (2016). "Hepatitis C in Australian prisons: a national needs assessment". International Journal of Prisoner Health. 12: 3–16.

External links

• Pending AfC submissions
• Pending AfC submissions in article space