An examination of chronic ill-health and lifestyle factors among inmates: searching for the healthy immigrant effect in New South Wales Prisons.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the rates of chronic health conditions and lifestyle factors between Australian-born and overseas-born inmates and to uncover predictive relationships between lifestyle factors and health outcomes for both groups.

Design/methodology/approach: Data are presented from a cross-sectional study based on a sample of inmates from correctional sites in New South Wales (NSW). The inclusion of results here was guided by the literature relating to the healthy immigrant effect.