Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

There is an urgent need for improved understanding and policy regarding in-prison use of prescribed medications in prison. Using the Canadian federal prison system as an example, my poster presentation will outline a range of access barriers to medication delivery that disproportionately affect prisoners with mental health needs, women prisoners, Indigenous prisoners, aging prisoners, and those living with HIV and other conditions that can lead to physical pain. Many medications are automatically excluded from the prison system's list of approved medications due to concerns about misuse and diversion. Various policies and restrictions interrupt, for example, prisoners' substance use treatment and pain medication schedules - interruptions that often destabilize people upon starting their prison sentence. Another potential consequence of such interruptions is that prisoners may start using other substances, such as diverted pharmaceuticals or illicit drugs, available in the unauthorized in-prison drug market. This activity increases the risk of serious health-related harms such as infection and overdose. Because most prisoners eventually return to their communities, their health is part of public health. Updated and evidence-informed policy is needed to improve timely access and understanding of harms related to various types of medication use in prisons. I will encourage among conference delegates discussion about international comparisons and how leaders in research, service provision, and health equity advocacy are needed to investigate, design, and move new research and policy initiatives forward.