Sullivan, Elizabeth A

Kendall, Sacha

Chang, Sungwon

Baldry, Eileen

Zeki, Reem

Gilles, Marisa

Wilson, Mandy

Butler, Tony

Levy, Michael

Wayland, Sarah

Cullen, Patricia

Jones, Jocelyn

Sherwood, Juanita

2019-06

<p><b>Objective:</b> To describe the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of Aboriginal mothers in prison.</p><p><b> Methods:</b> Cross-sectional survey, including a Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (5-item version) administered to Aboriginal women who self-identified as mothers.</p><p><b> Results:</b> Seventy-seven Aboriginal mothers in New South Wales (NSW) and 84 in Western Australia (WA) participated in the study. Eighty-three per cent (n=59) of mothers in NSW were in prison for drug-related offences, 64.8% (n=46) of mothers in WA were in prison for offences committed under the influence of alcohol. Sixty-eight per cent (n=52) of mothers in NSW and 35% (n=28) of mothers in WA reported mental health problems. Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) component scores of SF-12 varied for mothers in NSW and WA. Mothers in NSW experienced poorer health and functioning than mothers in WA (NSW: PCS 49.5, MCS 40.6; WA: PCS 54.4, MCS 48.3) and high levels of psychological distress (NSW: 13.1; WA 10.1).</p><p><b> Conclusions:</b> Aboriginal mothers in prison have significant health needs associated with physical and mental health, and psychological distress.</p><p><b> Implications for public health:</b> Adoption of social and emotional wellbeing as an explanatory framework for culturally secure healthcare in prison is essential to improving health outcomes of Aboriginal mothers in prison in Australia.</p>

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 43(3), p. 241-247

1753-6405

1326-0200

30994971

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/52638

en

John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Aboriginal mothers in prison in Australia: a study of social, emotional and physical wellbeing

Journal Article

Publication