Year: 2018 Source: British Medical Bulletin. (2018). 125(1): 15–23, doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldx052 SIEC No: 20180254

There are more than 10 million people imprisoned worldwide. These individuals experience a higher burden of communicable and non-communicable disease, mental health and substance misuse problems than the general population and often come from marginalized and underserved groups in the community. Prisons offer an important opportunity for tackling health problems in a way that can deliver benefits to the individual and to the community. This paper focuses specifically on emerging health issues for prisons across the world.