Health profile of freedom-deprived men in the prison system.

OBJECTIVE

To understand the needs and health profile of men incarcerated in the Pau dos Ferros Regional Criminal Complex (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil).

METHODOLOGY: Quanti-qualitative research conducted with 30 men incarcerated in November 2012. Semi-structured interviews were the primary data collection method. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the speeches were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The participants' health profile, resulting from deficits in living conditions prior to their imprisonment, is heightened by the degrading conditions of their prison stay, and plays a role in their exclusion and lack of care when admitted as prisoners. The disorders and symptoms most often self-reported by participants were: headache (86.6%), respiratory infections (66.6%), diarrhea (60.0%), stress (60.0%), and depression or deep sadness (56.6%). The responses showed that there is a social gap, especially related to health care, in the prison complex.

CONCLUSION

We recognize a need to ensure the physical and moral integrity of inmates, which is compromised by life in prison; the inmates' health problems and needs differ from those of the general population, and require solutions; the inmates' health-disease process deteriorates due to the mere situation of entering the prison system; the inmates' health problems and health needs are treated with palliative and / or no assistance by those legally responsible for their protection; few human and financial resources exist to ensure health actions for the inmates; and there are no interventions or actions of disease prevention and health promotion.