Elderly Prisoners

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The United States of America is home to the largest prison system in the world, with approximately 3.8 million inmates, or 25% of the total number of prisoners worldwide (Hoke, 2015). According to a case study reported by the American Journal of Public Health, the largest-growing prisoner population is the middle aged (45-54 years old) and older, with a reported increase of 79.0% between the years of 2000 and 2009, whereas their younger co-inmates only showed an increase of 16.3% during those same years (Williams, Stern, Mellow, Safer, & Greifinger, 2012). These statistics show the high likelihood that at some point in time, a healthcare professional will be providing services to an elderly inmate. As a result, there is a unique subset of challenges …show more content…
The National Institute of Corrections defines an elderly prisoner as anyone over the age of 50 years old; however, that age varies anywhere between 50 years old and 70 years old depending on the state in which the individual is incarcerated (Williams, Stern, Mellow, Safer, & Greifinger, 2012). Interestingly, it is estimated that the physiological age of someone who is incarcerated is actually 10-15 years older than their chronological age, partly due to events prior to incarceration such as substance abuse or inadequate health maintenance but also can be contributed by the stresses of incarceration itself. This translates to an inmate with multiple chronic medical conditions as well as a higher rate of disability when compared to the average younger prisoner (Williams et al., 2012). However, “in 2008, the Institute of Medicine’s Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce reported that health care and service providers from many professions are underprepared to care for older adults, including those in the criminal justice system.” (Williams et al., 2012). Institutions have health programs in place for these individuals that aim to be equivalent to that found in the community but a lack of resources, conflict of interests, and an increased demand for services due to overcrowding often interferes with the incarcerated patient’s right to healthcare. Early identification of and attention to chronic disease and age-related disabilities within the correctional facilities addresses and improves the prisoner’s quality of
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