No abstract

The preparation and distribution of medication in prisons or jails are critical for individuals to access their treatment. This process is resource-intensive for healthcare professionals and may violate principles of confidentiality, autonomy, respect, and dignity if non-qualified staff are involved. However, there are no published best practices on the topic. This report aims to bridge this gap by presenting the results of a mapping exercise on different models of medication preparation and delivery. Authors call upon healthcare professionals to enrich this live document to inform health services research further and improve access to prescribed medications for people experiencing incarceration.

Introduction Daily in-hand medication dispensing in prisons and jails is resource intensive, disempowering, and nonconfidential. This research aimed to assess a nurse-initiated, low-frequency medication dispensing system using personal lockable boxes. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in a Swiss prison involving 47 box users and 19 custodial officers. Findings Box users agreed or strongly agreed about the perceived advantages of the box system, including user-friendliness, lower theft risk, and increased dignity, confidentiality, compliance, and autonomy to self-manage medication. Officers, who must accompany nurses during dispensing rounds, concurred that medication boxes were more time-efficient and improved role differentiation between custodial and clinical staff. Patients and officers were overall satisfied with the system and would recommend scaling it up in other facilities. Discussion This study suggests that medication boxes are feasible, acceptable, easy to use, and secure. Boxes could promote patients' autonomy, protect confidentiality, and allow nurses to dedicate more time to individual visits and health promotion and prevention activities.

No abstract

The preparation and distribution of medication in prisons or jails are critical for individuals to access their treatment. This process is resource-intensive for healthcare professionals and may violate principles of confidentiality, autonomy, respect, and dignity if non-qualified staff are involved. However, there are no published best practices on the topic. This report aims to bridge this gap by presenting the results of a mapping exercise on different models of medication preparation and delivery. Authors call upon healthcare professionals to enrich this live document to inform health services research further and improve access to prescribed medications for people experiencing incarceration.