چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:Aboriginal Australians are more likely than other Australians to cycle in and out of prison on remand
or by serving multiple short sentences—a form of serial incarceration and institutionalisation. This cycle contributes
to the over-representation of Aboriginal Australians in prison and higher rates of recidivism. Our research examined
how primary health care can better meet the health care and social support needs of Aboriginal Australians
transitioning from prison to the community.
Methods:Purposive sampling was used to identify 30 interviewees. Twelve interviews were with Aboriginal people
who had been in prison; ten were with family members and eight with community service providers who worked
with former inmates. Thematic analysis was conducted on the interviewees’ description of their experience of
services provided to prisoners both during incarceration and on transition to the community.
Results:Interviewees believed that effective access to primary health care on release and during transition was
positively influenced by providing appropriate healthcare to inmates in custody and by properly planning for their
release. Further, interviewees felt that poor communication between health care providers in custody and in the
community prior to an inmate’s release, contributed to a lack of comprehensive management of chronic
conditions. System level barriers to timely communication between in-custody and community providers included
inmates being placed on remand which contributed to uncertainty regarding release dates and therefore difficulties
planning for release, cycling in and out of prison on short sentences and being released to freedom without access
to support services.
Conclusions:For Aboriginal former inmates and family members, release from prison was a period of significant
emotional stress and commonly involved managing complex needs. To support their transition into the community,
Aboriginal former inmates would benefit from immediate access to culturally- responsive community -primary health care
services. At present, however, pre-release planning is not always available, especially for
Aboriginal inmates who are more likely to be on remand or in custody for less than six months.