Health surveillance in Canadian federal prisons

C-CHANGE (Canadian Correctional Health information for Action Group Endeavour) is focused on developing health surveillance for people incarcerated in Canadian federal prisons. In an embedded mixed methods study, we are exploring knowledge users’ needs and priorities. To date, we have conducted interviews/focus groups with 57 varied stakeholders and are analyzing this data.

Early results show that:

• In terms of conditions and diagnoses, mental health issues – particularly substance use disorder and trauma – are considered most salient in this population.
• Participants largely find access to care, continuity of care (including on release), and quality of care even more vital to track than specific conditions.
• Respondents describe the conflict of providing care in a system made for punishment.
• Participants have suggestions for how to collect, track, and monitor health information better.

Our next steps are finishing analysis, preparing the follow-up survey to prioritize surveillance topics, writing papers, and preparing presentations.