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Health-promoting prisons

An interdisciplinary study of health and welfare in Norwegian prisons.

A sign where the sign says prison area in the foreground and a road towards Trondheim prison in the background.

Trondheim prison, Leira. Photo: Pernille Nyvoll.

About the project

The term “health” is often used in a rather simplified way, meaning an “absence of diseases”. The focus on health has often been limited to treating illness and avoiding the spread of infection. This project has a much broader understanding of health, and looks at physical, mental and social health in prison.

The project examines how prison as an arena affects the health of everyone there including inmates and employees. The project will hopefully contribute knowledge on what we need to do more of in order to create better health conditions in prison, so that inmates can achieve better rehabilitation. 

Method

Most of the data was collected in Norwegian low-security prisons, where it is expected to find more factors that can contribute to positive health outcomes. Shorter fieldwork has also carried out in Norwegian high-security prisons. The project had an open approach to the topic during data collection since health can be affected by a very wide variety of factors.

Project period

The project will run for four years starting in 2020.

Financing

The project is part of the research project “PRISONHEALTH”.

Pernille Nyvoll in front of the columns in Domus Media.
PhD candidate Pernille Nyvoll. Photo: UiO
Published Apr. 12, 2022 1:47 PM - Last modified Nov. 23, 2023 9:37 AM