This research strand seeks to examine the ways in which British authorities and penal institutions utilised the concept of ‘refusal’ to examine, construct, and intervene in the physical health of the British population between 1916 and 1939. With a focus on two different carceral contexts – the imprisonment of conscientious objectors (COs) in the First…
Category: Project themes
The project, ‘Prisoners, Medical Care and Entitlement to Health in England and Ireland, 1850-2000’, is undertaking research into topics that resonate with current concerns in the prison service, including the very high incidence of mental health problems amongst prisoners, the health of women and maternity services in prison, and responses to addiction and HIV/AIDS. All the different strands of research will straddle the period from the start of the modern prison system in the mid-nineteenth century up to the current day, and compare the provision of medical services and notions of the entitlement of prisoners to health in both England and Ireland.
You can find separate summaries of the main project research strands below.
Prisoners beyond the walls: prisoner rights, release, and continuity of care
Oisín Wall introduces his research project which explores the relationship between prisoners and the outside world as it was mediated by different organisations, from prisoner rights associations to the healthcare system.
‘In Humanity’s Machine’: Prison Health and History
Fiachra Byrne provides an overview of the research project and his own strand on juveniles in the latest issue of the Howard League’s ECAN Bulletin (July 2017)
Reform, Welfare and Prisoners’ Health Rights, 1850-2000
Dr Holly Dunbar outlines her research project on health networks for prison aftercare
Medical Care, Maternity and Childbirth in Female Prisons, 1850-2000
Dr Rachel Bennett in this blog, explores the impact of gender distinctions on the provision of medical care within female prisons
HIV/AIDS in Prisons, 1980-2000
Janet Weston
The emergence of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s presented particular challenges for prison medicine. Prison populations were quickly identified as having high rates of infection and of high-risk behaviours, and international organisations such as the World Health Organisation repeatedly called on governments to take action.
Prisoners and Mental Illness in Prisons, 1850–2000
Catherine Cox and Hilary Marland
Mental breakdown was often attributed to the intrinsic mental weakness of the prison population …
Mental Illness and Juvenile Prisoners, 1850–2000
Fiachra Byrne
Focusing on the ‘disturbed’ child who exhibited a pathological pattern of behaviour in detention settings …
Management of Health and Disease, 1850–1950
Margaret Charleroy
The physician was responsible for determining the maximum physical stress each inmate could safely endure …
Prison Doctors in the Medical Profession in England, 1970–1990
Nicholas Duvall
The relationship between prison doctors and their NHS colleagues was crucial to delivering prison healthcare …
Political Prisoners, Medicine and Health, 1850–2000
William Murphy
The intersection of health and medical care with ‘modern’ political imprisonment in England and Ireland …
Exploring the history of prisoner health 