The global prison population has grown exponentially in all five continents and consistent analysis shows that many diseases, illnesses and long-term conditions are over-represented in the prison population. Despite the myriad of health challenges in the population, the concept and practice of health promotion is both contested and underdeveloped with significant variation in its application in prison systems globally. The purpose of this commentary paper is twofold. The first is to provide a short overview of the health-promoting prison concept which we argue, at present, is a largely Eurocentric idea which has not been adopted on a global scale. Second, the paper makes a case for more global action on prison health promotion and invites further dialogue and discussion amongst the health promotion community.
WalmsleyR. World prison population list (10th edn). London: International Centre for Prison Studies; 2013.
2.
SparksR. The politics of imprisonment. In: JewkesY, editor. Handbook on prisons. Cullompton: Willan Publishing; 2007. p. 73–94.
3.
WHO. Health in prisons. A WHO guide to the essentials in prison health. Copenhagen: WHO; 2007.
4.
WoodallJde ViggianiNDixeyRSouthJ. Moving prison health promotion along: toward an integrative framework for action to develop health promotion and tackle the social determinants of health. Crim Just Stud. 2014; 27(1): 114–132.
5.
RossM. Health and health promotion in prisons. Oxon: Routledge; 2013.
6.
GreenJTonesKCrossRWoodallJ. Health promotion. Planning and strategies.3rd Edn.London: Sage; 2015.
7.
ScrivenAHodginsM. Health promotion settings: principles and practice. London: Sage;2012.
DoorisM. Expert voices for change: Bridging the silos—towards healthy and sustainable settings for the 21st century. Health Place. 2013; 20: 39–50.
10.
United Nations. International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. Geneva: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; 1966.
11.
United Nations. Basic principles for the treatment of prisoners. Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of14December1990. New York: United Nations; 1990.
12.
NiveauG. Relevance and limits of the principle of ‘equivalence of care’ in prison medicine. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2007; 33(10): 610–613.
13.
WHO. Ottawa Charter for health promotion. Health Promotion. 1986; 1(4): iii–v.
14.
RamaswamyMFreudenbergN. Health promotion in jails and prisons: an alternative paradigm for correctional health services. In: GreifingerRBBickJGoldensonJ, editors. Public health behind bars. From prisons to communities. New York: Springer; 2007. p. 229–248.
15.
BaybuttMAcinEHaytonPDoorisM. Promoting health in prisons: a settings approach. In: EnggistSMøllerLGaleaGUdesenC, editors. Prisons and health. Copenhagen: WHO; 2014. p. 180–184.
16.
MøllerLGathererADaraM. Barriers to implementation of effective tuberculosis control in prisons. Public Health. 2009; 123(6): 419–421.
17.
Anon. Advocates working to improve prison health in the Americas. The Nation’s Health. 2008; 38(1): 4.
18.
TertsakianC. ‘Some prisons are prisons, and others are like hell.’ Prison life in Rwanda in the ten years after the genocide. Prison Serv J. 2014; 212: 4–10.
19.
JeffersonAMMartinTM. Everyday prison governance in Africa. Prison Serv J. 2014; 212: 2–3.
20.
UNODC,UNAIDS. HIV and prisons in Sub-Saharan Africa: opportunities for action. New York: UNODC and UNAIDS;2006.
21.
SifundaSReddyPSBraithwaiteRStephensTRuiterRACvan den BorneB. Access point analysis on the state of health care services in South African prisons: a qualitative exploration of correctional health care workers’ and inmates’ perspectives in Kwazulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Soc Sci Med. 2006; 63(9): 2301–2309.
22.
TodrysKWAmonJJMalembekaGClaytonM. Imprisoned and imperiled: access to HIV and TB prevention and treatment, and denial of human rights, in Zambian prisons. J Int AIDS Soc. 2011; 14(1): 8.
23.
SimooyaOSanjoboN. ‘In But Free’ - an HIV/AIDS intervention in an African prison. Cul Health Sexuality. 2001; 3(2): 241–251.
24.
DixeyR. After Nairobi: can the international community help to develop health promotion in Africa?Health Promot Int. 2014; 29(1): 185–194.
25.
WHO. Health in prisons. Health promotion in the prison setting. Summary report on a WHO meeting, London15–17October1995. Copenhagen: WHO; 1995.
26.
de ViggianiN. Surviving prison: exploring prison social life as a determinant of health. Int J Prisoner Health. 2006; 2(2): 71–89.
27.
WoodallJ. Control and choice in three category-C English prisons: implications for the concept and practice of the health promoting prison. Unpublished PhD thesis. Leeds: Leeds Metropolitan University;2010.
28.
DixeyRWoodallJ. Prison staff and the health promoting prison. Int J Prisoner Health. 2011; 7(4): 8–16.
29.
SouthJBagnallAHulmeCWoodallJLongoRDixeyR. A systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer-based interventions to maintain and improve offender health in prison settings. Report for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research (NIHR HS&DR) programme Project: 10/2002/13; 2014.
30.
WoodallJSouthJ. Health promoting prisons: dilemmas and challenges. In: ScrivenAHodginsM, editors. Health promotion settings: principles and practice. London: Sage;2012. p. 170–186.
