Monitoring systems and national surveys on prison health in France and abroad

The implementation of a national monitoring system of prisoners' health is under consideration in France. As information available on this topic is quite scarce, particularly in Europe, a study was performed to identify and describe various prison health monitoring approaches implemented worldwide.

Data were collected for 15 countries in Oceania, North America and western and northern Europe via official state websites, bibliographical searches and interviews with international prison health representatives.

The means and methods implemented to monitor prisoners' health in the studied countries are heterogeneous. Although all countries systematically record mortality data, only four have a monitoring system that covers a wide array of health data: Canada and Belgium routinely collect health data using a systematic, standardized and computerized approach, while the USA and Australia have developed regular repeated nationwide surveys. Some countries have set up monitoring systems restricted to specific health problems, such as infectious diseases (e.g. the UK, Switzerland and Canada) and mental health (e.g. New Zealand and the Netherlands). In other countries, including France, prisoners' health monitoring systems are limited to occasional epidemiological studies covering specific topics, for example, psychiatric disorders, addiction or infectious diseases. However, their one-off nature prevents regular assessment of health prevalence and trends.

This study highlights the diversity of approaches and methods developed to monitor prison health in high-income countries. Analysis of these different situations provides an insight into the feasibility of and requirements for the development of an efficient prison health surveillance system.