Health of women and families in prison and on probation – reflections on the CMO report and research challenges

Introduction: The Chief Medical Officer for England’s 2025 annual report provides a timely and comprehensive examination of the health of people in prison, on probation, and within the secure NHS estate in England, with welcome and necessary attention to the specific needs of women and families. Although women represent a small proportion of those in custody or under probation supervision, their health and social needs are disproportionately complex, often shaped by high rates of trauma, poor mental health, substance use, and experiences of abuse.Purpose: This commentary reflects on the report’s findings in relation to experiences of ongoing research evaluating health and wellbeing outcomes for justice‑impacted women.Findings: There are considerable challenges to engaging women on probation in research; workforce shortages, service restructuring, and well‑intentioned gatekeeping constrain participation and illuminate wider systemic pressures within probation services. These barriers echo the health access challenges faced by women themselves, underscoring the need for better‑resourced, justice‑informed pathways.Conclusions: Aligning policy ambitions with operational realities, and resourcing collaborative research at ground level, are essential to reducing health inequalities among women under HMPPS supervision.