A human rights assessment of menopausal women's access to age- and gender-sensitive nondiscriminatory health care in prison

Abstract

The lack of visibility regarding the health needs of female prisoners in policies and healthcare provisions is reflected in the realities of life in prison, with glaring gaps in the practical medical and lifestyle supports of menopause.

Menopause for justice-involved women: consequences and care in prison systems

“…Women in prison have the additional loss of visibility and health neglect pertaining to navigating the consequences of menopause. Van Hout and colleagues 11 frame the lack of gender-sensitive care through a human rights lens. All justice-involved women deserve appropriate interventions for menopause-related symptoms and health concerns.…”

“…All justice-involved women deserve appropriate interventions for menopause-related symptoms and health concerns. Van Hout and colleagues' 11 review adds to the call for both instituting recommended menopause care within the prison system and training and education of correctional healthcare providers.…”

“…It is within this context that Van Hout and colleagues 11 evaluate the availability of gender-sensitive healthcare for justice-involved menopausal women. In a scoping review of 16 studies, they identified four themes within which gender-sensitive healthcare could be analyzed: environmental conditions such as ventilation and access to open air and menopausal sequelae, nondiscriminatory free healthcare, evidence-based age-/gender-sensitive prison health policies, and medical insensitivity and incompetence in menopausal care.…”