End-of-life Care in the Prison Environment #26 (January 2026) – Highlights

Compiled by Barry R. Ashpole.  Following are selected articles, reports, etc., from the latest (January) posting on the End-of-Life Care Behind Bars website. Access the monthly postings at: https://bit.ly/47sVCRU

Source: Inside Time: https://bit.ly/49ARiT8                   

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Development of a mortality prediction model for incarcerated adults to identify palliative care needs

JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE (U.S.) | Online – 18 December 2025 – Incarcerated adults experience accelerated aging, leading to reduced life expectancy and higher rates of chronic medical conditions, functional impairments, and mental health conditions compared with non-incarcerated persons. For individuals with advanced age, multimorbidity, and/or serious illness, advance care planning discussions, palliative care (PC), and hospice services are crucial for improving quality of life and ensuring medical care that is consistent with an individual’s values and goals. PC and hospice programs within the prison system have grown over the last few decades. However, these programs are frequently underutilized within the prison system due to limited access to consultations, uncertainty among healthcare professionals regarding protocols for providing PC, and delayed recognition of end of life trajectories by healthcare teams who predominantly care for incarcerated individuals without serious illness. Full text: https://bit.ly/44xUgET

Handbook on Lived Experiences in the Justice System – Hospice in prison: Compassion in action

ROUTLEDGE (U.S.) | Online – 10 December 2025 – Research has shown that prison itself ages individuals at a faster rate, thereby categorizing those who are 55 and older as elderly. The lack of medical care exacerbates physical and mental health problems, resulting in the need for hospice care in prison. To bring attention to this problem, the authors draw on existing literature on hospice care in the carceral setting including individuals involved in the programs, their experiences, and limitations as well as challenges to providing such care in correctional facilities. Based on their review, they advocate for collaborative partnerships between social workers and correctional staff, compassionate release or medical furlough, and increased data collection on this subset of individuals. The handbook includes sixty chapters written by academics, practitioners, and lived experts who are currently or formerly system-impacted. Access e-Book (Chapter 22) at: https://bit.ly/4oSFeRc

Carework as resistance: How incarcerated women care for each  other to survive carcerality amid a global pandemic (extract)

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY (U.S.) Online – 11 November 2025 – Prison hospice programs, staffed by trained volunteers of incarcerated peers, address a critical area of carceral neglect and allow space for compassion and care that otherwise contradicts the status quo.¹ One formerly incarcerated woman described starting a ‘Compassionate Companions Program’ that would maintain a vigil for patients who were terminally ill inside. These programs are necessary because of the extreme sentences levied in the U.S. and limited options or possibility for release. Between 2015 and 2021 in California, 95 out of 306 incarcerated people who were referred for compassionate release died before their application for the process was processed. Programs like ‘Compassionate Companions,’ developed by people inside, ensured that no one was left alone while they were dying. The ability to care for each other was often subversive or done only at the discretion of an approving carceral officer. Full text: https://bit.ly/4rKMRfh

1. ‘Death and dying in carceral America: The prison hospice as an inverted space of exception,’ Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 2022;36(2):177-197: https://bit.ly/4s3n967

Promoting health literacy in prisons through participation and inclusion

UNIVERSITY OF PISA NEWS (Italy) | Online – 10 December 2025 – Across Europe, people living in prisons continue to face serious health inequalities, including limited access to healthcare, low levels of health literacy, and inadequate infrastructure. The PARTNER project (Participatory Approach for Training, Empowerment, and Health Education Resources in Prisons) was established to promote health literacy through an inclusive and participatory approach, involving both people living in prisons and prison staff in the design of tailored health education tools. The project brings together a university, hospital centers, a national penitentiary and non-government agencies, to improve access to health information and strengthen the capacity of prison communities to make informed health choices. The consortium is coordinated by the University of Pisa (Italy) and includes the Montpellier University Hospital Centre (France), Prolepsis Institute (Greece), ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo (Italy), and the National Administration of Penitentiaries (Moldova). Full text: https://bit.ly/3MsZUls

It’s hard to grieve in prison

THE MARSHALL PROJECT (U.S.) | Online – 12 December 2025 – Research shows that grief is a hidden yet profound part of prison life. And, when ignored, it impacts people’s health and their chances of moving forward. A study of men incarcerated in Texas found a higher rate of depressive symptoms among those who experienced the death of a loved one in their last year of incarceration.¹ Strong support systems – whether inside or outside prison – helped soften the impact. Research on women incarcerated in the northeastern U.S. shows how grief is often left unresolved because prison offered no physical or emotional space to process it.² [Susan] Shannon, an interfaith chaplain who founded the Buddhist Prison Ministry, believes that helping people deal with their grief in prison can lead to better outcomes for those behind bars. “If we can show people how to grieve in prison, whether they’re alone [or] whether they’re with others,” she said. Full text: https://bit.ly/48SOUW6

1. ‘Depression among incarcerated persons following the death of a loved one: Does social support mitigate grief?,’ Death Studies, 2024;48(2):79-94. https://bit.ly/3Yv02Dy
2. ‘Grief interrupted: The experience of loss among incarcerated women,’ Quality Health Research, 2010;21(4):454-464. https://bit.ly/44st9ep

A model for the early compassionate release of prisoners in Australia

ADELAIDE LAW REVIEW | Online -17 December 2025 – For many reasons, prisoners’ personal circumstances may change during their custodial terms. Their experiences in prison, such as their participation in a rehabilitation program, might have profoundly positive and life-changing effects on them. Yet other circumstances may arise that make their prison terms considerably more onerous than sentencing courts contemplated they would endure. For instance, they might develop a serious illness in prison… Notwithstanding these possibilities, there are few avenues for incarcerated people in Australia to be able to secure early release from prison for compassionate reasons. To address this shortcoming, this article recommends law reforms that adopt aspects of the early compassionate prisoner release model that operates in the U.S.’s federal jurisdiction, and expand the “release on licence” process available to some prisoners in Australia’s federal jurisdiction. Access full text (click on pdf icon) at: https://bit.ly/48YMbdD

Finding little compassion in compassionate release…

FORBES (U.S.) | Online – 17 December 2025 – For many years, only the Bureau of Prisons (BoP) could file a motion for compassionate release on behalf of an inmate. This meant that very few such motions were filed, and even fewer were granted unless the inmate was near death. The First Step Act of 2018 changed that process by allowing prisoners themselves to petition courts directly once they have exhausted administrative remedies. This reform led to a sharp increase in compassionate release motions … and prompted renewed debate about how to define what counts as “extraordinary and compelling.” Even though the Sentencing Commission’s amendments were intended to make relief more accessible, courts continue to require strong, detailed evidence showing both serious illness and inadequate care. Inmates must demonstrate not just that they have a severe condition, but that the BoP cannot or will not provide the treatment necessary to manage it safely. Full text: https://bit.ly/48Q3f5q

How has this resource benefited you. Let us know: https://bit.ly/4cdWVFD

 

____________________________________________________________________________________

Barry R. Ashpole, Ontario, CANADA                                   Biosketch: https://bit.ly/3XMTRs4