Traumatic brain injury among female offenders in a prison population: results of the FleuryTBI study.

Aim: The study was designed to estimate the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a French prison population of female offenders, study the variables known to be associated with TBI, and compare our results with those obtained among male offenders as described in a previous paper.

Participants: All female offenders (adults and juveniles) consecutively admitted to Fleury-Mérogis prison over a 3-month period were included in the study.

Method: During the admission procedure, female offenders were interviewed by healthcare staff using a self-reported questionnaire.

[Correctional health care].

Court decisions taking away someone's freedom by requiring them to serve a jail sentence should not deny them access to the same health care available to free citizens in full compliance with patient confidentiality. Health institutions, responsible for administering somatic care, offer a comprehensive response to the medical needs of those under justice control, both in jails and conventional care units. For a physician, working in the correctional setting implies accepting its constraints, and violence, and protecting and enforcing fundamental rights, as well as rights to dignity, confidential care and freedom to accept or refuse a treatment.