Prison recidivism rates in Australia sit at 42.5%, continuing a steady climb over the years. As calls for prison reform continue, different aspects of the Australian prison system have been examined, including health care and care for elder prisoners. As such, the intersection of mental and physical health with recidivism have become an area of study in order to establish health equity in prisons.  Health equity aims to provide the right care for those in prison as part of general prison reform.

Health problems can be directly linked to re-offending, be it dementia, diabetes, or mental health problems, as the reintegration process can create problems with finding and balancing care between reintegration into life outside of prison. These problems also persist alongside general reintegration problems that continue to put strain on those re-entering society.

As prison reform and recidivism rates continue to rise as social issues, the prison system in Australia has come under fire for lagging behind other countries in the world.

Image: Image: Pexels – Donald Tong

Produced By: Steven Samaras

Featured In Story: Dr Jane Hwang, Research Fellow in the School of Population Health at UNSW

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 5 June 2024