General Practice Y2 Inequality Case Studies 2020 - 2021

Question 10

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion stresses the importance of approaching health holistically, through a 'healthy settings' approach:

'Health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life; where they learn, work, play and love. Health is created by caring for oneself and others, by being able to take decisions and have control over one's life circumstances, and by ensuring that the society one lives in creates the conditions that allow the attainment of health by all its members.'

Within Scotland's prisons, a suggestion is to adapt this 'healthy settings' approach by building on the experience of prisons in England and Wales where they have found it helpful to tailor the three ‘healthy settings’ elements to:

• Policies in prisons which promote health (eg a no smoking policy, regular exercise, regular visiting / family contact, healthy diets, availability of education / religious support)
• An environment in each prison which is actively supportive of health
• Prevention, health education and other health promotion initiatives which address health needs within each prison. These would primarily look to tackle the health risks listed above.