Background: While challenging to provide, prisoners are entitled to healthcare equivalent to community patients. This typically involves them travelling to hospitals for secondary care, whilst ...adhering to the prison's operational security constraints. Better understanding of equivalence issues this raises may help hospitals and prisons consider how to make services more inclusive and accessible to prisoners. We used prisoners’ accounts of secondary care experiences to understand how these relate to the principle of healthcare equivalence.
Methods: We undertook a qualitative interview (n = 17) and focus group (n = 5) study in the English prison estate. Prisoners who had visited acute hospitals for consultations were eligible for participation. They were recruited by peer researchers. 45 people (21 female, 24 male, average age 41) took part across five prisons. Participants were purposively recruited for diversity in gender, age and ethnicity.
Findings: Experiences of hospital healthcare were analysed for themes relating to the principle of ‘equivalence of care’ using Framework Analysis. Participants described five experiences challenging ‘equivalence of care’ for prisoners: (1) Security overriding healthcare need or experience (2) Security creating public humiliation and fear (3) Difficulties relating to prison officer's role in medical consultations (4) Delayed access due to prison regime and transport requirements and (5) Patient autonomy restricted in management of their own healthcare.
Interpretation: Achieving equivalence of care for prisoners is undermined by fear, stigma, reduced autonomy and security requirements. It requires co-ordinated action from commissioners, managers, and providers of prison and healthcare systems to address these barriers. There is a need for frontline prison and healthcare staff to address stigma and ensure they understand common issues faced by prisoners seeking to access healthcare, while developing strategies which empower the autonomy of prisoners’ healthcare decisions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
IntroductionVitamin B12 deficiency is widely prevalent across many low- and middle-income countries, especially where the diet is low in animal sources. While many observational studies show ...associations between B12 deficiency in pregnancy and infant cognitive function (including memory, language and motor skills), evidence from clinical trials is sparse and inconclusive.Methods and analysisThis double-blind, multicentre, randomised controlled trial will enrol 720 vegetarian pregnant women in their first trimester from antenatal clinics at two hospitals (one in India and one in Nepal). Eligible mothers who give written consent will be randomised to receive either 250 mcg methylcobalamin or 50 mcg (quasi control), from enrolment to 6 months post-partum, given as an oral daily capsule. All mothers and their infants will continue to receive standard clinical care. The primary trial outcome is the offspring’s neurodevelopment status at 9 months of age, assessed using the Development Assessment Scale of Indian Infants. Secondary outcomes include the infant’s biochemical B12 status at age 9 months and maternal biochemical B12 status in the first and third trimesters. Maternal biochemical B12 status will also be assessed in the first trimester. Modification of association by a priori identified factors will also be explored.Ethical considerations and disseminationThe study protocol has been approved by ethical committees at each study site (India and Nepal) and at University College London, UK. The study results will be disseminated to healthcare professionals and academics globally via conferences, presentations and publications. Researchers at each study site will share results with participants during their follow-up visits.Trial registration numberCTRI/2018/07/015048 (Clinical Trial Registry of India); NCT04083560 (ClinicalTrials.gov)
Vitamin B
deficiency is widely prevalent across many low- and middle-income countries, especially where the diet is low in animal sources. While many observational studies show associations between B
...deficiency in pregnancy and infant cognitive function (including memory, language and motor skills), evidence from clinical trials is sparse and inconclusive.
This double-blind, multicentre, randomised controlled trial will enrol 720 vegetarian pregnant women in their first trimester from antenatal clinics at two hospitals (one in India and one in Nepal). Eligible mothers who give written consent will be randomised to receive either 250 mcg methylcobalamin or 50 mcg (quasi control), from enrolment to 6 months post-partum, given as an oral daily capsule. All mothers and their infants will continue to receive standard clinical care. The primary trial outcome is the offspring's neurodevelopment status at 9 months of age, assessed using the Development Assessment Scale of Indian Infants. Secondary outcomes include the infant's biochemical B
status at age 9 months and maternal biochemical B
status in the first and third trimesters. Maternal biochemical B
status will also be assessed in the first trimester. Modification of association by a priori identified factors will also be explored.
The study protocol has been approved by ethical committees at each study site (India and Nepal) and at University College London, UK. The study results will be disseminated to healthcare professionals and academics globally via conferences, presentations and publications. Researchers at each study site will share results with participants during their follow-up visits.
CTRI/2018/07/015048 (Clinical Trial Registry of India); NCT04083560 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
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