Prisoners as Users of Digital Health Care and Social Welfare Services: A Finnish Attitude Survey

Abstract

Prisoners are a group of people with many health and social problems. However, in prisons the use of the Internet is controlled. Thus, prisoners’ access to digital health care and social welfare services is limited. In addition, there are many cognitive and attitudinal barriers to the use of digital health care and social welfare services for prisoners. Cross-sectional survey data (N = 225) were collected from eleven prisons in different parts of Finland and analysed using linear regression analysis. The results are consistent with Ajzen´s theory and previous studies on the acceptance of information systems in health care. Prisoners´ behavioural intentions related to the use of digital health care and social welfare services are influenced by their perceptions of their capacity to use digital services, the expectations of their close people and their attitudes, as well as by trust in the Internet and services. In contrast, the age of prisoners´ indirectly affects their willingness to use digital services. The study recommends that prisoners are supported in the use of digital health care and social welfare services by prison staff and other people. Digital skills training is also needed in order to support digital inclusion, especially for older and long-term prisoners.

Former Incarceration, Time Served, and Perceived Oral Health among African American Women and Men

“…However, the datedness of the data means that future work may build on these findings to ascertain incarceration status, ethnoracial identification, and oral health among a more recent sample of African American adults. Future work may also benefit from use of digital technologies to ascertain health status and to ensure healthcare services are successful [69]. Third, we utilized a common measure of perceived oral health status [62][63][64].…”

Self-efficacy and Use of Digital Health Care and Social Welfare Services Among Incarcerated People: Cross-sectional Survey Study

“…Five questions were prepared according to the concept of control by Ajzen [ 43 ]. These questions [ 50 ] were connected to the ease of use of digital services in general, perceived control of the use of digital health care and social welfare services, and confidence in learning to use new digital services. These questions were formed as statements and were evaluated on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree).…”

Digital agency of vulnerable people as experienced by rehabilitation professionals

“…It has also been found that digital inclusion follows some clear economic and social contours, and people with lower levels of income, employment and education are significantly less digitally included [18]. Previous studies have also pointed out that many vulnerable groups of people, such as those with mental health problems [4,6,19] and incarcerated people [20,21], are at risk of digital exclusion.…”

“…According to van Deursen and van Dijk [9]; the first-level digital divide still remains a problem in some rich western countries because device opportunity, device and peripheral diversity, and maintenance expenses differ among segments of the population. In the case of vulnerable groups, personal circumstances and financial barriers can be factors in their digital exclusion [6], and a lack of electronic IDs can act as a barrier to access to many digital services [21]. From the beginning of the 21st century, various studies have especially highlighted the second-level digital divide related to digital skills and digital engagement [25,26].…”