Effect of age, time spent in prison and level of education on the perceived health and quality of life of elderly prisoners

• Published date: 10 June 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-09-2018-0048
• Pages: 168-180
• Date: 10 June 2019
• Author: Nicolas Combalbert,Valérie Pennequin,Claude Ferrand,Moussa Keita,Brigitte Geffray
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Effect of age, time spent in prison and

level of education on the perceived health

and quality of life of elderly prisoners

Nicolas Combalbert, Valérie Pennequin, Claude Ferrand, Moussa Keita and Brigitte Geffray

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of perceived health and quality of life of elderly

prisoners in France, and to see whether there is a link between aging, time spent in prison and level of

education and scores for perceived health and quality of life.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors’recruited 138 male prisoners aged 50 and over in seven

French prisons. The research protocol comprised a semi-structured interview and two scales.

Findings –The results revealed low levels of perceived health and quality of life among the elderly inmates.

They also showed that age was not statistically associated with most of the dimensions of perceived health

on the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), with the exception of poor mobility. By contrast, age was statistically

associated with most of the dimensions of quality of life on the WHOQOL-Bref. Time spent in prison was only

associated negatively with the “sleep”dimension of the NHP. Emotional reactions were perceived most

positively by the inmates with the highest level of education.

Practical implications –It seems particularly important to assess the perceived health and quality of life of

elderly prisoners in order to ensure their appropriate treatment and management.

Originality/value –Very few studies have examined the perceived healthand quality of life of prisoners, even

though this population is particularly vulnerable in terms of physical and mental health.

Keywords Mental health, Psychological health, Quality of life, Elderly prisoners, Perceived health,

Forensic psychiatry

Paper type Research paper

At 1st April 2018, the prison population in France was 70,367, of whom 20,852 were

remand prisoners and 49,515 were sentenced prisoners (Ministère de la justice, 2018).

According to the National Prison administration, the category of prisoners aged 50 and

over represents 11 per cent of the total prison population. In France, as in other countries

worldwide, it is a recognised fact that the prison population is aging (Aday, 2003; Crawley

and Sparks, 2005; Laurens and Pedron, 2007; Rothman et al., 2004). This poses significant

problems for prison staff in terms of day-to-day care, as elderly inmates are amongst the

most vulnerable of the prison population, notably in terms of physical and mental health

(Combalbert et al., 2016, 2017; Fazel et al., 2001; Fazel and Baillargeon, 2011; Hayes et al.,

2012; Thomas et al., 2015; Watson et al., 2004). Overall, reports on French prisons,

together with the few studies carried out in prisons confirm that the health of detainees is

significantly worse than that of other people of similar age and background (Thomas et al.,

2015). We know that, overall, incarcerated individuals demonstrate significantly higher

levels of illness than the general population (Macmadu et al., 2017). In particular, elderly

prisoners constitute a group of vulnerable individuals in correctional institutions with greater

propensities for the negative effect of incarceration and its attendant public health problems

(Majekodunmi et al., 2017; Heidari et al., 2017). In a sample of 380 male prisoners in

Switzerland, Wangmo et al. (2015) found that older inmates ( W50 years) suffered from more

somatic diseases than younger inmates (o50 years) and that the number of diseases

increased with age group.

Received 22 September 2018

Revised 26 September 2018

Accepted 27 September 2018

Conflict of interest: none.

Nicolas Combalbert, Valérie

Pennequin, Claude Ferrand,

Moussa Keita and Brigitte

Geffray are all based at the

Universite Francois-Rabelais de

Tours UFR Lettres et Langues,

Tours, France.

PAGE168

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INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH

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VOL. 15 NO. 2 2019, pp. 168-180, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-09-2018-0048