OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of prisoners of Quetta city, Pakistan.

METHODS: The study was cross sectional in nature and was conducted at central and district prison of Quetta city. Based on proportion, data from 389 prisoners were collected by using the EuroQol 5D-3L and was analyzed by using SPSS v. 20.0.

RESULTS: Majority (56.8 %) of our respondents were from central prison and the cohort was dominated by participants of 21-30 years of age (28.3 %). Almost 94% of the inmates had been in prison for the first time and highest percentage (50.6 %) of crime reported was murder. Most frequently reported health condition among prisoners during imprisonment was stomach disorders (15.4 %). The EQ-5D descriptive and VAS score were 0.55 ± 0.29 and 49.1 ± 24.7 respectively depicted poor HRQOL. Majority of the participants reported no problem in mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain or discomfort but indicated severe and extreme anxiety or depression in the last domain (48.3 %). Overall, the prisoners reported 64 health states. Although age, locality, current years in prison, present illness during imprisonment, prison status and marital status were significantly associated with HRQOL, present illness during imprisonment (β=0.451) was rated as predictor of HRQOL in the current cohort.

CONCLUSIONS: As expected, the prisoners of Quetta city, Pakistan reported poor health related quality of life. Findings of the current study demand the policymakers to take immediate steps in order to improve the prisoners’ HRQoL.