Health status and health services use of female and male prisoners in provincial jail

This report brings together survey data and focus group information to begin to identify the health status of female and male prisoners and their use of health services during incarceration, as well as the accessibility and quality of health services at the provincial level. This report is a contribution to current discussions on prisoner health and health service utilization. First, as previously mentioned, there is little information on the health status of prisoners in Canada and what is available is largely based on federal prisoners. Second, the data is based on large group data from prisoners' medical records and does not always account for differences in sex, gender, race, and other determinants of health. Third, we do not know a lot about the use of health services by prisoners at the provincial level. Fourth, evaluations of the accessibility and quality of health services are not detailed in the Canadian literature. Gaining insight into these issues from the perspective of female and male prisoners who have been incarcerated in a provincial jail will help inform future research, as well as policy and practice recommendations.