Health Risk Behavior and Basic Facilities Among Incarcerated Women at Central Jail, Karachi

Abstract

Objective: To determine the health risk behaviors and chronic health conditions among incarcerated women at central jail Karachi.

Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at department of community medicine LUMHS from May 2024 to October 2024, on incarcerated women recruited through consecutive sampling. The data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire assessing socio-demographic characteristics, health risk behaviors, and chronic diseases. The chronic diseases were evaluated through self-reported physician diagnosis, medical record review, and objective clinical measurements including blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, BMI, asthma, arthritis and HCV infection. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0.

Results: Most of the incarcerated women were aged 28–37 years (39.9%) and had normal BMI (58.7%), though 26.8% were overweight or obese. Mostly women were married (58.0%) and had been incarcerated for less than one year (53.6%). Accordant health risk behaviors, mosquito exposure (60.9%), cigarette smoking (16.7%), physical inactivity (16.7%), bullying (8.0%), drug misuse (7.2%), physical assault (7.2%), and sexual abuse (2.2%) were the most commonly reported. The, 35.5% reported at least one chronic condition, most commonly diabetes-hypertension combination (7.2%), arthritis-hypertension (6.5%), diabetes alone (5.1%), and asthma (3.6%), while the chronic disease burden showed no statistically significant association with duration of incarceration (p=0.094).

Conclusion: The incarcerated women carry a substantial burden of health risk behaviors and chronic diseases within critically under-resourced custodial environments, requiring urgent implementation of gender-responsive healthcare programmes and evidence-based prison health reforms.