Prison health in transitional Albania

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Criminology
• Sociology

Background:

• Limited data exists on the health status of prisoners in transitional countries, including Albania.
• Prisoners represent a vulnerable population subgroup requiring specific health considerations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the health status and identify correlates of poor self-perceived health among adult prisoners in Albania.
• To provide crucial health information for a post-communist nation's correctional system.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 401 adult prisoners in Albania.
• Anonymous questionnaires collected data on self-perceived health, diseases, lifestyle factors, and demographics.
• Binary logistic regression analyzed associations between health status and covariates.

Main Results:

• 43.1% of prisoners reported poor health, with a higher prevalence in females.
• Significant positive associations were found between poor health and female gender, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and presence of diseases.
• Prevalence rates for smoking (59.1%), excessive alcohol (34.9%), and drug use (10.2%) were reported.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights a significant burden of poor health among Albanian prisoners.
• Urgent improvements in health service provision for this vulnerable population are needed in Albania.