Aim: The information about prisonersÂ’ health in transitional countries including Albania is limited. The aim of our study was to assess the health status and its correlates among adult prisoners in Albania, a post-communist country in Southeast Europe. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2013 including 401 prisoners in Albania [290 (72%) males and 111 (28%) females]. All participants were administered an anonymous and structured questionnaire including information on self-perceived health status, health-related problems, lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol intake and drug use) and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (age, sex, educational attainment and income level). Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between self-reported health status and covariates. Results: Overall, 173 (43.1%) of prisoners included in this study reported a poor health status, with a clear predominance of the female gender (P
Key words: Albania, marginalized groups, prison health, self-perceived health status, vulnerable groups.
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