Summary

Older people are a growing part of Australia’s prison population. Their social and lifestyle characteristics, before and during incarceration, mean prisoners experience age-related health conditions earlier than people in the community.

Older prisoners are more likely to experience poorer health, have chronic physical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, and use multiple types of medications compared to younger prisoners.

This report presents data on the health-care needs of prisoners who participated in the 2018 National Prisoner Health Data Collection (NPHDC), with a focus on how these needs differ for younger and older prison entrants.