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When Home Is a Prison: Exploring the Complexities of Palliative Care for Incarcerated Persons

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Hospice Palliative Home Care and Bereavement Support

Abstract

Severely marginalized groups such as prisoners in correctional settings face immense barriers in accessing palliative care services. Morbidity and mortality data suggest that incarcerated persons experience higher rates of disease and disability when compared to their nonincarcerated counterparts. Given the widespread graying of the prison population globally, many incarcerated persons will face death while they are serving sentences for the crimes that they have committed. Approaches to end-of-life and palliative care vary from one jurisdiction to another and are often lacking altogether. When home is a prison, incarcerated persons are at the mercy of correctional authorities to provide appropriate healthcare, including palliative care. Through an exploration of a model of care relevant to nursing in the correctional milieu, relational and contextual factors will be explored and implications for education, practice, and research will be examined.

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Burles, M., Peternelj-Taylor, C. (2019). When Home Is a Prison: Exploring the Complexities of Palliative Care for Incarcerated Persons. In: Holtslander, L., Peacock, S., Bally, J. (eds) Hospice Palliative Home Care and Bereavement Support. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19535-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19535-9_18

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