Comparative Analysis Of Prison Healthcare Satisfaction: Inmates’ Perspectives In An African Setting
Okeke Uchenna David
Department of health administration and management, Faculty of health sciences and technology, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus Enugu State, Nigeria.
Abstract
Background: Assessing patient satisfaction enables healthcare providers to evaluate how well their services meet the needs of their clients. While patient satisfaction surveys have been conducted in various healthcare settings in Nigeria, limited research has focused on prison healthcare services, which motivated this study.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three prisons—Enugu, Oji River, and Ibite-Olo—in Enugu State, Nigeria. All prisoners who had used or were currently using prison healthcare services were included. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Nigeria Ethical Review Committee.
Results: Overall, prisoners reported dissatisfaction with all evaluated healthcare services. The greatest dissatisfaction was observed in areas such as the physical appearance of facilities and quality of equipment (mean = 2.40 ± 1.33) and the timely availability of laboratory results (mean = 2.46 ± 1.36). Comparative analysis across the three prisons revealed significant differences in satisfaction levels (p < .001). Low satisfaction persisted even when sociodemographic variables were used as predictors.
Conclusion: Prisoners’ satisfaction with healthcare services in the studied facilities was generally low, with notable differences between prisons. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare services in Nigerian prisons.