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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Brie Williams, MD¹, Karla Lindquist, MS¹, Donna J. Wilmott², Heidi Strupp², and Louise Walter, MD¹. (1) Dvision of Geriatrics, University of California-San Francisco, SFVAMC, 4130 Clement Street, Bldg 1, Box 181-G, San Francisco, CA 94121, (2) Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, 1540 Market Street # 490, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415) 255-7036, heidi@prisonerswithchildren.org

Background: The number of older prisoners is increasing exponentially. For example, the number of geriatric women prisoners in California has increased by 350% in the past decade. Despite an increasing population of geriatric women prisoners, the degree of functional impairment in this population is unknown. Therefore, the goals of this study were to describe the prevalence and nature of functional impairment among geriatric women prisoners in California and to identify aspects of the prison environment which may exacerbate functional impairments. Methods: Questionnaires were analyzed from 120 geriatric women in California state prisons. Functional impairment was defined as impairment in ADL or in daily prison activities (PADL) including: dropping to the floor for alarms, standing for count, getting to meals, hearing orders and climbing onto the top bunk. Results: The mean age of participants was 62 years; 16% were dependent in 1 ADL while 69% reported 1 PADL impairment. Increasing severity of functional impairment was associated with worse health status and more adverse prison experiences. For example, fall rates ranged from 33% in women without impairment to 57% with PADL impairment to 63% with ADL dependence (p=0.02). Several prison environmental stressors were identified that likely exacerbate functional impairment. For example, 29% of geriatric women were assigned to a top bunk. Conclusion: Geriatric women prisoners reported high rates of functional impairment. Both ADL and PADL impairment were associated with worse health status and adverse prison experiences. Therefore, the evaluation of functional impairment in geriatric women prisoners needs to consider the unique demands of the prison environment. As the population of geriatric prisoners grows, it will be important to either modify the prison environment or to find an alternative to incarceration for this population.

Learning Objectives:

1.Identify trends in the age distribution of the prison population
• Describe the frequency of functional problems in elderly women prisoners
• Suggest community-based alternatives to incarceration for older women prisoners

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation