Prisons not adapting to needs of aging inmate ...( und that 69 percent of the women report...),Health

The women were also less healthy than the general population, reporting significantly higher rates of hypertension, asthma or other lung disease, and arthritis.

According to Williams, the issue of physical independence for older prisoners is becoming increasingly urgent. She observes that the prison system was never designed or built for geriatric prisoners, yet the population of older prisoners in the United States is increasing "exponentially," with the number of geriatric female prisoners in California up 350 percent in the last decade. "It is projected that by 2030 ... one third of the U.S. prison population will be geriatric," write the study authors.

Williams says that since the study was conducted, she has visited a number of men's prisons throughout California, spoken with correctional officers and prisoners, and concluded that many of the same issues of aging and safety apply to male prisoners as well. She says that she would like to see the present study replicated and validated by a study conducted in men's prisons.

For the short term, Williams makes several recommendations that she says would help make prisons safer for older inmates: "Every prisoner 55 and over should be assigned to a bottom bunk unless the person specifically requests otherwise, and should be in a cell with grab bars near the toilets. They should be housed closer to the dining hall, and given more time to drop to the floor during alarms. There should be grab bars in showers, and rubber mats on shower floors."

She points out that these modifications would make prison safer for younger inmates with physical impairments as well.

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Contact: Steve Tokar
steve.tokar@ncire.org
415-221-4810 x5202
University of California - San Francisco
13-Mar-2006