title: Health problems among detainees in Switzerland: a study using the ICPC-2 classification.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the health status of prisoners in Switzerland. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of the health problems presented by detainees in Switzerland's largest remand prison.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective cross-sectional study we reviewed the health records of all detainees leaving Switzerland's largest remand prison in 2007. The health problems were coded using the International Classification for Primary Care (ICPC-2). Analyses were descriptive, stratified by gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2195 health records were reviewed. Mean age was 29.5 years (SD 9.5); 95% were male; 87.8% were migrants. Mean length of stay was 80 days (SD 160). Illicit drug use (40.2%) and mental health problems (32.6%) were frequent, but most of these detainees (57.6%) had more generic primary care problems, such as skin (27.0%), infectious diseases (23.5%), musculoskeletal (19.2%), injury related (18.3%), digestive (15.0%) or respiratory problems (14.0%). Furthermore, 7.9% reported exposure to violence during arrest by the police.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Morbidity is high in this young, predominantly male population of detainees, in particular in relation to substance abuse. Other health problems more commonly seen in general practice are also frequent. These findings support the further development of coordinated primary care and mental health services within detention centers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Switzerland. Hans.Wolff@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sebo
authors.forename: Dagmar M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Haller
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eytan
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Niveau
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gétaz
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cerutti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004282:Documentation; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult