Health outcomes after release from prison in Australia (HARP4)

The HARP4 study is the world’s largest and richest prospective cohort study of adults released from prison. Baseline surveys and prison medical records for 4,232 people across 4 states (VIC, NSW, QLD, WA) are being linked, retrospectively and prospectively, with state and Commonwealth health records, and correctional records. The cohort includes 905 women and 1544 Indigenous Australians. The aims of the study are to:

Provide a platform for describing the health-related trajectories of people who experience incarceration in Australia;
Identify links between poor health outcomes and re-incarceration;
Calculate the direct healthcare costs associated with poor health outcomes after release from prison.

Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council

Project team: Prof Stuart Kinner, Prof David Preen, Prof Kimberlie Dean, Prof Mark Stoové, Prof Rohan Borschmann, Dr Craig Cumming, Dr Matt Legge, A/Prof Jesse Young, Prof Dennis Petrie, Prof Sandra Eades; Prof Ed Heffernan, Prof Emily Wang, Dr Danny Sullivan; Dr Darcy Coulter, Dr Michael Curtis, Dr Natalia Yee, Dr Lucas Calais-Ferreira, Ms Lindsay Pearce, Ms Sarah Pellicano, Ms Sarah Brick