Gender differences in the health status of the imprisoned population in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Pakistan
Abstract
Background: The prison population of any country is a high-risk population because of a lack of access to regular health care facilities. This research was planned to assess the gender differences in the health status of the imprisoned population of Lahore.
Patients and methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Kot Lakhpat Jail in the province of Punjab, near Lahore, from January to August 2019. After getting permission from Inspector General, Police of Punjab, a sample of 320 inmates of Kot Lakhpat Jail was collected through a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected on a structured questionnaire based on history and examination. Data was entered in SPSS version 23, and the chi-square test was applied to assess the gender differences in health status, p-value ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant.
Results: General examination revealed that 143 (44.7%) had refractory errors, and 34 (10.6%) had mild deafness. Common infection in males were scabies (p = 0.002), Sore throat (p =0.015) and urinary tract infections (p=0.015). Hepatitis C was present in high frequency (9.1%). Assessment of sexually transmitted diseases showed discharge in 10.6%, vesicular herpetic eruptions in 8.8%, and ulcers in private parts in 3.8% of the sample. Males showed a significantly high frequency of hypertension (p =0.052) and arthritis (p=0.024). Evaluation of mental health status revealed significant high rates of depression in females (p =0.000) and a high frequency of insomnia (p=0.000). Social health problems revealed a high frequency of smoking in males (p=0.000) and feeling of stigmatization in females (p=0.000).
Conclusion: Male jail inmates showed high frequencies of scabies, sore throat and urinary tract infection, and hypertension. Females showed higher rates of depression, insomnia, and feeling of stigmatization.
Copyright (c) 2021 Iram Manzoor, Qurat- ul Ain Zulfi, Nashmia Zahid, Muhammad Asad, Muhammad Babar Ahmed
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The Journal of Fatima Jinnah Medical University follows the Attribution Creative Commons-Non commercial (CC BY-NC) license which allows the users to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, remix, transform and build upon the material. The users must give credit to the source and indicate, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. However, the CC By-NC license restricts the use of material for commercial purposes. For further details about the license please check the Creative Commons website. The editorial board of JFJMU strives hard for the authenticity and accuracy of the material published in the journal. However, findings and statements are views of the authors and do not necessarily represent views of the Editorial Board.
