Analysis of health care in prisons of Pará state, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to describe Pará’s Prison Health. This ecological time series study was based on secondary data with unrestricted access from Institutional Reports of the Penitentiary System and information from the Pará Transpa-rency Web Portal, the National Register of Health Facilities (CNES), and the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN). As a result, we observed a population with a majority of less-educated young black and brown males. In absolute num-bers, we observed an increase of health professionals who did not follow the prison population hike. When entered into statistical control charts, the number of medical, dental, and psychological visits varied randomly and outside the limits. The potential coverage of prison health teams linked to the SUS achieved a maximum of 45.77%. Health task forces did not increase the number of visits. The incidence of tuberculosis was much higher than the mean for the state population, and its notification is adequate. Even with restricted secondary data, we could broadly look at the sta-te’s prison health, raising issues managers and professionals should consider.