Medication use by Australia's prisoners

Medication use by Australia's prisoners 2015: how is it different from the general community? is a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which looked at the 2015 rate and types of medications taken by prisoners, who have poorer health overall than the general population. 

The types of medications where the difference between prisoners and the general community was the greatest were for those medications usually taken for mental health problems, addictions and chronic conditions. Compared with the general community, prisoners were 9 times as likely to be taking antipsychotics, more than twice as likely to be taking antidepressants or mood stabilisers, and 4 times as likely to be taking medications used in addictive disorders. Medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma and diabetes were also taken by a higher proportion of prisoners than the general community.

The differences in prison prescribing practices was also examined. Prisoners have limited access to over-the-counter medications, and are usually not allowed to keep medications in their possession, so some medications that may be purchased without prescription in the community are likely to be prescribed in prison. The choice of prescribed medications may also be influenced by security considerations.