Caring for Each Other

End-of-life Behind Bars

Barry R. Ashpole

Worldwide, prison populations are ageing rapidly, with the life expectancy of elderly inmates considerably shorter than those in the "outside world.” And, with age, there is a corresponding increase in chronic illness and disability. For a disturbing number of inmates, prison will be their "final resting place.” 

The quality of end-of-life care behind bars is emerging as a universal public health issue, one that is receiving increased attention in the literature as well as in the news media, with reports of a number of initiatives, notably in the United States, in what is commonly termed “prison hospice.”1

Where volunteer inmates have been trained to care for those living with a terminally illness, prison hospice has also served to work against the sense that prisoners often have of having little or no value. Prison hospice, therefore, can serve two critically important purposes consistent with the philosophy of hospice and palliative care: improving the quality of care for the incarcerated, and the potential capacity of correctional facilities to help rebuild—not destroy—souls. (Download the complete article below.)

(NOTE: If you are looking for general sources on palliative and end-of-life care, this monthly literature search undertaken for the International Association of Hospice & Palliative Care may be helpful.)