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.
Implemented in France, Greece, Italy, and Moldova, the project brings together a university, hospital centers, a national penitentiary and NGO, 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).
Between May and July 2025, the PARTNER consortium carried out a series of co-creation sessions in prisons across the four countries. These participatory activities engaged people living in prisons, prison staff, and civil society representatives in open dialogue to better understand their health needs, perceptions, and barriers to care. The sessions also invited participants to actively contribute to the design of the forthcoming PARTNER training curriculum.
Across all settings, common challenges emerged, such as overcrowding, bureaucratic delays, lack of medical personnel, and overreliance on medication without adequate psychological support. A participant in Greece summed up this sense of frustration: “If you’re not in serious pain, you won’t see a doctor. You have to shout to be heard. ” Others explained that in the absence of proper care, they rely on each other for advice and support: “We ask each other what to take or how to find it; I trust my cellmate more than the infirmary.”
For prison staff, the challenges were different but equally pressing. Working under constant pressure and with limited resources, one staff member explained: “They ask us to do prevention, but we only run from one emergency to the next; we don’t have time for anything else.” They also emphasized the lack of healthcare professionals in prisons. As one prison staff member observed, “We don’t have psychologists to see them regularly; we hand out pills, otherwise we can’t cope.”
The findings reveal shared health concerns across all four countries. Mental health and suicide prevention emerged as critical priorities, while hygiene, infection prevention, nutrition, and chronic disease management were identified as essential areas of focus. Substance use, sexual and reproductive health, and first aid were also considered vital for daily well-being and safety.
Participants emphasized that any effective health training in prison must be interactive, practical, and culturally sensitive.
The results of the co-creation sessions will guide the creation of educational materials and training modules for both people living in prisons and prison staff across Europe. These materials will promote health literacy, contributing to a more informed and humane prison environment.
PARTNER, is a three-year project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. For more information visit the website partnerproject.eu
Project
No.2024-1-IT02-KA220-ADU-000247653
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) or INDIRE Agency. Neither the European Union nor EACEA nor INDIRE can be held responsible for them.
