Do Personal Nurse-Initiated Medication Boxes Work in Prison? A Cross-Sectional Study Involving Incarcerated Persons and Prison Officers in a Swiss Prison

Abstract

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.