In Ghana, nurses working in public healthcare settings occasionally provide care for inmates referred from correctional institutions. However, little is known about how professional ethics, institutional constraints, emotional demands, and cultural values influence nurses’ experiences in delivering care to this marginalized population within a low-resource context. This study aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of nurses in Ghana who provide healthcare to inmate patients, focusing on the ethical, emotional, institutional, and cultural dimensions of their work. A qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach was employed. Seventeen nurses from selected public hospitals in Ghana were purposively sampled. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis method. Nurses expressed a strong ethical commitment to treating inmate patients with dignity and equity. This commitment was often strained by emotional conflict, fear, and awareness of inmates’ criminal backgrounds. Institutional shortcomings and the absence of clear protocols compromised the quality of care, while the presence of security personnel disrupted communication and heightened tension during nurse–patient interactions. Despite stigma and cultural taboos, many nurses upheld their professional values and sense of shared humanity. Nurses’ experiences of caring for inmate patients in Ghana are shaped by complex ethical, emotional, institutional, and cultural dynamics. Addressing these challenges requires the development of correctional healthcare protocols, provision of psychosocial and debriefing support for nurses, and the integration of bias-awareness training. Furthermore, policies must actively confront societal stigma and safeguard the rights of inmates to ensure humane and equitable healthcare for all.
Atinga et al. (Thu,) studied this question.