Establishing population-level health monitoring for people incarcerated in Canadian federal prisons

The C-CHANGE team, led by Dr. Fiona Kouyoumdjian, is aiming to develop health surveillance for people incarcerated in Canadian federal prisons. This work involves a partnership with Correctional Service Canada (CSC) to establish ongoing, population-level health monitoring using information in their electronic medical records. It also includes a broad system of partnerships and collaborations outside of CSC, including people with lived experience of incarceration, representatives of community organizations that support people who are incarcerated and their health, and academics in the prison health field. To ensure the surveillance data is appropriate and usable, a mixed-methods study is underway to understand knowledge users’ needs and priorities for this health information. To date, the team has completed focus groups/interviews with 36 people in the community, and has received CSC approval to start recruiting CSC staff and people who are currently incarcerated.