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Healthcare

Addressing gaps in correctional services in healthcare

1 Jul 2013, by Informa Insights

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The annual Correctional Services in Healthcare conference addresses current gaps, promotes multidisciplinary care and analyses what is needed to improve  the continuum of care into the community. We have made some of the presentations delivered at the 2012 event available for download.

“Out of Sight, Out of Mind” – People with an Acquired Brain Injury in Corrections

This paper summarises the findings of Brain Injury Australia’s policy paper on people with an ABI and the criminal justice system recently completed for the Australian Government, including:

  • New, and detailed, information on ABI in prisoner cohorts from two Australian States;
  • Summaries of the latest research examining the neurological relationship between brain injury and subsequent, often violent, offending;
  • A survey of the availability, and efficacy, of programs in behaviour management and modification
  • Key learning’s:
  • The key features in presentation of ABI among prisoners (that also make it distinct from other health conditions and disabilities – for example, intellectual disability and mental illness) illustrated by case studies;
  • The real prevalence rates of ABI in corrections, and why they may still be under-estimates;
  • The evidence base for rehabilitation of offenders with an ABI; and exploration of the potential implications for correctional healthcare service delivery under the Australian Government’s proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Nick Rushworth, Executive Officer, Brain Injury Australia

[slideshare id=23725156&doc=nickrushworth-130701015609-phpapp01]

Can a ‘New Recovery’ Drug Treatment Paradigm be Applied Through Corrections?

  • ‘Recovery-oriented systems of care’ is a US-born concept that is shaping drug treatment policy in the UK, and is now in the early stages of being promoted in Australia
  • Drawing on local and overseas experiences, different pathways of ‘new recovery’ drug treatment, relating to health services, education, protection of vulnerable people and other considerations will be examined
  • The users of different drug types report different links between their drug use and crime, which lends further support for multifaceted approaches in a range of treatment types
  • How sufficiently resourced post-release support programs can be leveraged to improve offenders ‘recovery capital’

John Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, Anex (Association for Prevention and Harm Reduction Programs Australia)

[slideshare id=23725163&doc=johnryan-130701015618-phpapp02]

A Drop in the Ocean – Hepatitis C amongst Chronic Disease in the Prison Population; Is Self Management Possible?

The prison population, as a whole, have poorer health outcomes than the general population, with 25% of prison entrants self-reporting that they have a current chronic condition

(The health of Australia’s prisoners 2009) This presentation looks at hepatitis C in the prison population and how it is intertwined with other chronic health conditions including:

  • How these chronic conditions are not only physiologically linked, but intertwined within a myriad of social determinants and poor health behaviours
  • The challenges of working in health promotion in the face of complex health needs and explore how this could be managed within a Chronic Disease Self Management framework in custodial settings

Alexandra Taylor, Prisons Program Educator, Hepatitis Victoria

[slideshare id=23725158&doc=alexandrataylor-130701015612-phpapp01]

New Initiative – Aboriginal Health Community Re-Entry Program

As part of the ‘Closing the Gap’ initiative in WA, The Program;

  • Aims to motivate Aboriginal people in custody to take a greater interest in their health and to take action about their current acute and chronic health needs, including general healthy lifestyles, upon release
  • Provides ‘in-reach’ services into prison to connect with Aboriginal prisoners up to 6 months prior to their release
  • Actively supports Aboriginal people after custody to connect them with health services in their local community
  • Works in partnership with the WA Department of Corrective Services, ensuring the program works in culturally safe ways
  • Successful outcomes of the program include, connecting Aboriginal prisoners to prison health clinics with whom they were not previously engaged and linking people released from custody into health services for conditions ranging from mental health, drug and alcohol use and chronic disease

Damian Hart, Project Manager, Aboriginal Prisoner Health Re-entry Health Project, Department of Health WA

[slideshare id=23725160&doc=damianhart-130701015614-phpapp02]

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