Introduction: the prison system in the Brazilian state of Acre, located in the Western region of 

the Amazon, is a branch of the criminal justice system that has been suffering from issues such as 

overcrowding and growth in internal organized crime. The prevalence of these matters directly 

affects the resocialization of prisoners and inhibits the successful re-engineering of their social 

values and beliefs.

Objective: to analyze the epidemiological profile of jailed

women in the State of Acre, Brazil.

Methods: in a cross-sectional descriptive study, 129 participants were recruited from female 

penitentiaries in the state of Acre. Conducted between August and December of 2017, data was 

collected through a validated questionnaire, divided into modules, using both open and closed-ended 

items.

Results: we found that most women who participated in the study were single (n = 86, 66.7%), had 

brown skin (n = 93, 72.1%), had children (n=102, 79.1%), resided in the state of Acre (n=117, 

90.5%). The mean age of the sample was 27.69 years. Among those participants who reported having 

partners (n = 40, 31%), we found that half had partners who were also incarcerated (n = 20, 50%). 

The study results also indicate that drug trafficking (n = 86, 66.7%) was the major cause for female incarceration, followed by homicide crime (n = 16, 12.4%). Over half of the participants 

were in prison for the first time (n = 75, 58.1%), with a high recidivism rate observed in the total sample (n = 54, 41.9%). A majority of the participants (n = 97, 75.2%) kept in touch with members of their families and a smaller portion (n = 15, 11.6%) received conjugal visits. With regard to social activities, slightly more than half (n = 75, 58.1%) worked and the majority (n = 114, 88.4%) did not study while jailed.

Conclusion: the difficulties associated with accessing inmate data and the lack of peer-reviewed studies on inmate health in Brazil suggests that the public policies recommended by the PNSSP and 

the National Policy for Comprehensive Health Care for Women should be reevaluated.