End-of-Life Care Behind Bars
A Periodic Literature Search

End-of-Life Care Behind Bars

Regular reviews of articles and reports on key issues in prison hospice and palliative care. Click on the red icon to download a PDF of each report. 

January 2025

HIGHLIGHTS: Peer caregiving in prisons; a public health framework for carceral health; review of First Nations healthcare in prisons; aging and dying in prison; engaging the hospice community in end-of-life care in prisons (parts 1 & 2); experiencing life-limiting illness behind bars; helping imprisoned women plan for end of life; the psychosocial aspects of palliative care provision for incarcerated persons

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December 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Establishing national standards for carceral healthcare; Indigenous community-controlled prison health service for First Nations people; life without parole and euthanasia; the complexity of palliative care for those in prison; bereavement support in prisons; why correctional facilities should more widely implement medical parole for incarcerated individuals

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November 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: The unique needs of senior inmates; healthcare barriers for incarcerated Indigenous Peoples; governance of prison healthcare; facilitators and barriers in palliative and end-of-life care in prisons; prison clinicians, hospital clinicians and correctional officers perspectives on palliative care; inmate’s documentary on dying alone wins first-ever prison film festival and parole on the same day

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October 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Moving elderly prisoners to secure care homes; ethical and organizational issues of healthcare services in prison; palliative care needs and experiences of people in prison; who gets compassionate release; interesting reads you might have missed

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September 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Prisons becoming nursing homes; human rights issues; prison health surveillance; the concept of “prison hospice”; quality, culturally safe, people-centred healthcare and services in correctional facilities; coping with a father’s death behind bars; interesting readings you might have missed

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August 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Impact of prison on elderly inmates; governance of healthcare in custody; the role of prison healthcare; facilitating palliative care for people in prison; medical decision-making in correctional facilities; medical assistance in dying

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July 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Health equity for people living in correctional facilities; unmet healthcare needs of incarcerated Indigenous peoples; end of life in hospitalized prisoners; medical assistance in dying for prisoners

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June 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Healthcare and healthcare governance in prisons; dying in prison; do community hospices support prisons to provide end-of-life care; grief and bereavement in the prison environment

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May 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: The rapidly growing US prison population; governance of prison healthcare; how do people in prison access palliative care?

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March 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Aging behind bars; redefining healthcare behind bars; the transformative power of prison hospice programs

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January 2024

HIGHLIGHTS: Shocking state of prisoner health; dying alone in prison and the social responsibility of medicine; compassionate release of dying inmates

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November 2023

HIGHLIGHTS: Palliative care among incarcerated populations; grieving and finding comfort in death behind bars

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September 2023

HIGHLIGHTS: Prison system struggling to keep up with growing need for palliative care; how many hospice programs exist in prisons

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July 2023

HIGHLIGHTS: Prison hospices are changing lives; transforming the way prisoners die; motivation and training needs of prison healthcare professionals

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2022

Backgrounder on prison hospice/palliative care research and media coverage from 2018-2022

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