Prison health data collection: Transforming prisons from public health risks to opportunities for global health equity

Despite the health challenges inherent to prison settings and their implications for public health and global health equity, in most countries we know almost nothing about the health status of people deprived of liberty, nor the prison healthcare services in place to respond to their health needs. Over 11 million people are imprisoned globally on any given day, and an estimated 30 million people are released from prisons into the community each year. Prisons concentrate some of the world's most medically and socially vulnerable populations, yet prison healthcare services are typically under-resourced to meet their complex health needs. Furthermore, overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions in prisons contribute to the spread of infectious diseases within and beyond their walls. Even though prison health and public health are inextricably linked, basic data collection on health and healthcare systems in prisons globally remains insufficient and inconsistent. This information is urgently needed to quantify health burden in the world's prisons, support efforts to reduce disease transmission and progression during incarceration and in the community, facilitate identification of effective models of prison healthcare governance, and support global efforts to improve health equity. In this article, we articulate the critically important role of prison health data collection when it comes to improving the health of people deprived of liberty and advancing the global health equity agenda. We identify key elements and principles of prison health data collection and discuss opportunities for advancing equitable, collaborative, and useful systems of prison health data collection.