Scission entre le sanitaire et le pénitentiaire

The purpose of this article was to present results of comparative research conducted in correctional institutions in Canada and France. We examined the conditions of nurse care, in such institutions, particularly the conflicts between penitentiary and health imperatives as well as the real conditions of nursing practices in comparison with theory. In Canadian penitentiaries, nursing practices were found to be very different from those in the general population. I France however, a strict separation is observed between tasks concerning health care and those concerning the correctional institution. The French experience could be a useful starting point for restructuring health care services in Canadian federal correctional institutions. Affirmation of the ethical principles of health care in prisons in France is based on a firm engagement firm the Ministry of justice and a clear logic of health care. It is also noted that the professional secrecy is carefully respected for both physicians and nurses.