Top

BMC Health Services Research

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2011 | Research article

Health care help seeking behaviour among prisoners in Norway

Authors: Merete Berg Nesset, Åse-Bente Rustad, Ellen Kjelsberg, Roger Almvik, Johan Håkon Bjørngaard

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2011

Abstract

Background

Prisoners are associated with high health care needs compared with the general population. This study aims to investigate prisoners' use of health service.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of 29 prisons in central and southern parts of Norway. A questionnaire was distributed to 1, 454 prisoners (90% response rate). Multilevel analyses were employed to analyse help seeking behaviour among the prisoners.

Results

Help seeking was substantially associated with sleep problems and drug problems. There was also a tendency for closed prisons as well as high staffing levels of healthcare professionals to be associated with elevated health care use.

Conclusions

This study suggests that sleep problems and drug use are most frequently associated with health service use. The differences in health care use between prisons suggest that the implementation of prison health care standards should be addressed.

Available only for authorised users

Pratt D, Piper M, Appleby L, Webb R, Shaw J: Suicide in recently released prisoners: a population-based cohort study. Lancet. 2006, 368: 119-123. 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69002-8.CrossRefPubMed

Watson R, Stimpson A, Hostick T: Prison Health Care: a review of the literature. Int J Nurs Stud. 2004, 41: 119-128. 10.1016/S0020-7489(03)00128-7.CrossRefPubMed

Condon L, Hek G, Harris F: A review of prison health and its implications for primary care nursing in England and Wales: the research evidence. J Clin Nurs. 2007, 16: 1201-1209. 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2007.01799.x.CrossRefPubMed

Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police: Report to the Storting no 37 Sentencing that works- less crime- safer society (Criminal re-establishment system report). 2008, Oslo: Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police

Sirdifield C, Gojkovic D, Brooker C, Ferriter M: A systematic review of research on the epidemiology of mental health disorders in prison populations: a summary of findings. J Forens Psychiatry Psychol. 2009, 20 (S1): S78-S101.CrossRef

Kjelsberg E, Hartvig P: Can morbidity be inferred from prescription drug use? Results from a nation-wide prison population study. Eur J Epidemiol. 2005, 20: 587-592. 10.1007/s10654-005-8156-9.CrossRefPubMed

Howerton A, Byng R, Campbell J, Hess D, Owens C, Aitken P: Understanding help seeking behaviour among male offenders: qualitative interview study. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 2007

Skogstad P, Deane FP, Spicer J: Social-cognitive determinants of help seeking for mental health problems among prison inmates. Crim Behav Ment Health. 2006, 16: 43-59. 10.1002/cbm.54.CrossRefPubMed

Mitchell J, Latchford G: Prisoner perspectives on mental health problems and help-seeking. J Forens Psychiatry Psychol. 2010, 21 (5): 773-788. 10.1080/14789949.2010.488697.CrossRef

10.

Hanratty B, Zhang T, Whitehead M: How close have universal health systems come to achieving equity in use of curative services? A systematic review. Int J Health Serv. 2007, 37 (1): 89-109. 10.2190/TTX2-3572-UL81-62W7.CrossRefPubMed

11.

Bjørngaard JH, Rustad Å-B, Kjelsberg E: The prisoner as patient- a health services satisfaction survey. BMC Health Serv Res. 2009, 9 (176).

12.

Crow R, Gage H, Hampson S, Hart J, Kimber A, Storey L, Thomas H: The measurement of satisfaction with healthcare: implications for practice from a systematic review of the literature. Health Technol Assess. 2002, 6 (32): 1-244.CrossRefPubMed

13.

Brooker C, Repper J, Sirdifield C, Gojkovic D: Review of service delivery and organisational research focused on prisoners with mental disorders. J Forens Psychiatry Psychol. 2009, 20 (S1): S102-S123.CrossRef

14.

Morgan RD, Rozycki AT, Wilson S: Inmate Perceptions of Mental Health Services. Prof Psychol Res Pr. 2004, 35 (4): 389-396.CrossRef

15.

Morgan RP, Steffan JP, Shaw LM, Wilson SM: Needs for and Barriers to Correctional Mental Health Services: Inmate Perceptions. Psychiatr Serv. 2007, 58 (9): 1181-10.1176/appi.ps.58.9.1181.CrossRefPubMed

16.

Rabe-Hesketh S, Skrondal A: Multilevel and longitudinal modeling using Stata. 2008, College Station, TX: Stata Press

The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/11/301/prepub

Title: Health care help seeking behaviour among prisoners in Norway
Authors: Merete Berg Nesset
Åse-Bente Rustad
Ellen Kjelsberg
Roger Almvik
Johan Håkon Bjørngaard
Publication date: 01-12-2011
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2011
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-11-301

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Health care help seeking behaviour among prisoners in Norway

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2011

Canada's Patented Medicine Notice of Compliance regulations: balancing the scales or tipping them?

Two-tier charging in Maputo Central Hospital: Costs, revenues and effects on equity of access to hospital services

Assessment of a primary care-based telemonitoring intervention for home care patients with heart failure and chronic lung disease. The TELBIL study

The Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ): identification of core items from a survey in Norway

Optimizing the two-step floating catchment area method for measuring spatial accessibility to medical clinics in Montreal

Structured diabetes care leads to differences in organization of care in general practices: the healthcare professional and patient perspective