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Placing The Promotion Of Health And Well Being On The Irish Prison Agenda - The Complexity Of Health Promotion In Irish Prisons, Catherine Macnamara, Patricia Mannix-Mcnamara

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

The prison population experiences significant health inequality and social exclusion (Department of Health 2002). Once incarcerated, prisoners are at increased risk of mental illness and have higher exposure to communicable diseases (WHO 2008). Prisoners generally have poorer health because imprisonment negatively impacts upon the health of the individual (WHO 2008). However, the prison setting offers a unique opportunity to implement targeted health promotion initiatives with a population that may have had very limited experience of accessing health services prior to incarceration. The World Health Organisation recognises the need for health promotion in prisons. This is evidenced in the Health in …