The penalty of imprisonment and its impact on the health of inmates - preliminary results

DĄBEK, Józefa, KULIK, Halina, ZDRZAŁEK, Rafał, STOLORZ, Karolina & SIERKA, Oskar. The penalty of imprisonment and its impact on the health of inmates - preliminary results. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;22(1):11-29. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.22.01.001

https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/43258

https://zenodo.org/record/7848845

The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343.

Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences).

Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159.

Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu).

© The Authors 2023;

This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Received: 18.03.2023. Revised: 27.03.2023. Accepted: 20.04.2023. Published: 20.04.2023.

The penalty of imprisonment and its impact on the health of inmates - preliminary results

Józefa Dąbek¹, Halina Kulik², Rafał Zdrzałek³, Karolina Stolorz⁴, Oskar Sierka⁵

¹Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-635 Katowice, 45/47 Ziołowa St., Poland. ORCID: 0000-0002-8257-6614. jdabek@sum.edu.pl.

²Department of Propaedeutics of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-027 Katowice, 20/24 Francuska St., Poland. ORCID: 0000-0002-1092-814X. hbkulik@sum.edu.pl.

³Prison Health Service, Correctional Facility in Racibórz, 47-400 Racibórz, 14 Eichendorff’s St., Poland.  rafal01.79@o2.pl.

⁴Student Research Group at the Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-635 Katowice, 45/47 Ziołowa St., Poland. karolinastolorz@gmail.com.

⁵Student Research Group at the Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-635 Katowice, 45/47 Ziołowa St., Poland. ORCID: 0000-0001-8667-6463. oskarsierka@gmail.com.

Corresponding author: Oskar Sierka, Student Research Group at the Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland. oskarsierka@gmail.com. ORCID: 0000-0001-8667-6463.

Abstract

Introduction and purpose

The prison system is an extremely important element of the country's penal structure. Restrictions related to serving a sentence of imprisonment adversely affect the physical health and the mental health of inmates. The main goal of the study was to assess selected areas of health of respondents in prison and changes in them depending on the time spent in prison.

Material and methods

The study included 153 (100%) men aged 18 to 55 staying in the Penitentiary Institution in Racibórz. An original questionnaire consisting of questions concerning the described issues was used to conduct the study. All respondents provided informed consent to participate. Obtained results in each category were converted into 5-point Likert Scale. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Chi² test to investigate the relationship between the obtained results and the time spent in prison.

Results

Almost 30% of respondents declared the presence of chronic diseases before imprisonment, and more than half of the most common ailments after imprisonment included heartburn. Conducted analysis showed that even though more than 60% of the respondents assessed their general health positively there was a significant difference (Chi²=13.8; p=0.0083) between obtained results and inmates’ self-assessment. Time spent in prison was not influencing significantly physical health (Chi²=9,9 p=0,624) and inmates’ pro-health behaviors (Chi²=18,0 p=0,3232), but it influenced mental health (Chi²=28.3; p=0.047) and lifestyle (Chi²=37.4; p=0.0052).

Conclusion

The conducted evaluation shows how inmates’ health and its determinants are changing during time spent in prison. Moreover, it shows the problems that have to be resolved to maintain health during time spent in prison. It also highlights the importance of taking actions leading to inmates’ health improvement.

Keywords: prisoners; health; health promotion, imprisonment impact.