Growing Old Behind Bars: Health Profiles of the Older Male Inmate Population in the United States

This study examines patterns of multimorbidity among elderly male inmates across four domains of health (chronic medical conditions, drug- and alcohol-related diseases, impairments, and mental and behavioral health) to understand the complex health care needs of this growing population.

We use the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities and Latent Class Regression Analysis to examine 22 health problems among 1,026 men aged 50 and older.

There are four groups of elderly male inmates:

1. relatively healthy (45.1%), 
2. substance users with behavioral health issues (23.4%),
3. chronic unhealthy with impairments and violence/injury (23.6%), and 
4. very unhealthy across all domains (7.9%). 

These groups have unique sociodemographic background and incarceration history characteristics.

This study demonstrates the complexity of health for elderly inmates. Prison health should continue to be monitored to aid correctional and community health programs in understanding clinical risks, exposures, and health care needs for this population.

Purchase full article at:  http://goo.gl/nLxPBP

By: Nowotny KM1, Cepeda A2, James-Hawkins L3, Boardman JD4.

• 1University of Colorado Boulder, USA Kathryn.Nowotny@Colorado.edu.
• 2University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
• 3Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
• 4University of Colorado Boulder, USA. 

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