Palliative care behind bars: the New Zealand prison hospice experience

The provision of palliative care for convicted criminals ignites debate about morality and equality. The New Zealand prison population includes a higher proportion of smokers, Maori (native New Zealanders), and intravenous drug users than is found in the general community; prisoners as a group are therefore at greater risk of developing a terminal illness. The sparse literature mostly originates from America, which necessitates consideration of the relevance to corrections systems in other societies. This paper examines some of the issues surrounding the provision of palliative care for prisoners in the New Zealand correction system. These issues may challenge some of the basic principles on which modern hospice care has been developed.