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Care of the Older Offender Program
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In 2017 Correctional Services Canada (CSC) commissioned the Division of Geriatric Medicine of Queen’s University with the Centre for Studies in Aging & Health at Providence Care to develop and pilot the delivery of a new Older Offenders Curriculum to health care providers, correctional officers and administrative staff working in CSC. To learn more view the project poster here.
CSC Staff were invited to access online education resources on a variety of topics specific to the care of older adults. These overviews were available on the Centre’s online learning management system, sageducation.ca.
An additional learning library of relevant articles on issues related to caring for older offenders was developed and shared on sagelink.ca. These resources are available below.
RESOURCES RELATED TO CARING FOR OLDER OFFENDERS
| Aging in Correctional Custody: Setting a Policy Agenda for Older Prisoner Health Care This article describes a round-table process that resulted in consensus on 9 priority areas for policy agenda regarding older prisoners. 7 pages. Last reviewed February 2020. |
| A Resource Pack for Working With Older Offenders This British resource provides education for correctional facility staff and anyone who wishes to practically enhance the lives of older offenders. It contains a number of one page information sheets s to help staff recognize and respond to a variety of common health issues. 54 pages. Last reviewed February 2020. |
| Care of the Older Offender This reading list includes the topics of dementia in prison, complex chronic medical care, psychological distress, mental illness, disability in prison, cancer, end-of-life care, aging and dying in prison and gender differences. 4 pages. Last reviewed December 2019 |
| Managing the Elderly in Corrections This document discusses the issues facing the correctional system in addressing the aging prisoner population needs. 23 pages. Last reviewed February 2020. |
| The High Cost of the International Aging Prisoner Crisis: Well-Being as the Common Denominator for Acton This study looks at the social context model of human development and well-being in relation to international human rights guidelines that pertain to the promotion of health and well-being that relate to those aging in prison.12 pages. Last reviewed February 2020. |
| The Healthcare Challenges of Older People in Prisons – A Briefing Paper This NHS paper gives an overview of health problems in older inmates, prison healthcare and particular health issues seen in this population. It also includes a section looking at older prisoners in Canada. 27 pages. Last reviewed February 2020. |
| The Older Prisoner and Complex Chronic Medical Care This chapter from the World Health Organizations publication “Prisons and Health” provides a global perspective to the challenges of caring for aging prisoners in correctional institutions. It reviews the issues of accelerated aging, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, falls, dementia, incontinence, sensory impairment, symptom burden, functional status and environment, mental health issues, end of life care and death and re-entry into the community. 8 pages. Last reviewed February 2020. |
| The Painful Price of Aging in Prison This article shares the experiences of aging inmates within American federal prisons as well as its financial costs to provide health care. Last reviewed January 2020. |