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Volume 15
Issue 6
10.3390/socsci15060355
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

The Pains of Being an Older Prisoner: Healthcare, Social Care and Dying in Custody

by
Paul Gavin
*,
Finley MacDonald
,
Cody Normitta Porter
and
Ada Toprak
School of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(6), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060355
Submission received: 23 April 2026 / Revised: 20 May 2026 / Accepted: 22 May 2026 / Published: 29 May 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Prisons and Ageing)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The ageing prisoner population in England and Wales presents a significant and growing challenge for both criminal justice and social policy. Despite increasing recognition of the complex health and social care needs of this cohort, these needs have not been adequately addressed by successive governments. This conceptual paper critically analyses the broader structural, policy, and practice-based limitations associated with the provision of health and social care for older prisoners through a Sykesian (1958) pain model, as well as through Crewe’s (2011) analytical framework of weight, depth, tightness and breadth. It does this through consideration of three main pains of being an older prisoner—those related to healthcare, social care and death.
Keywords: older prisoners; ageing; pains of imprisonment; healthcare; social care; dying in prison older prisoners; ageing; pains of imprisonment; healthcare; social care; dying in prison

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gavin, P.; MacDonald, F.; Porter, C.N.; Toprak, A. The Pains of Being an Older Prisoner: Healthcare, Social Care and Dying in Custody. Soc. Sci. 2026, 15, 355. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060355

AMA Style

Gavin P, MacDonald F, Porter CN, Toprak A. The Pains of Being an Older Prisoner: Healthcare, Social Care and Dying in Custody. Social Sciences. 2026; 15(6):355. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060355

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gavin, Paul, Finley MacDonald, Cody Normitta Porter, and Ada Toprak. 2026. "The Pains of Being an Older Prisoner: Healthcare, Social Care and Dying in Custody" Social Sciences 15, no. 6: 355. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060355

APA Style

Gavin, P., MacDonald, F., Porter, C. N., & Toprak, A. (2026). The Pains of Being an Older Prisoner: Healthcare, Social Care and Dying in Custody. Social Sciences, 15(6), 355. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15060355

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