Attitudes towards prisoners, as reported by prison inmates, prison employees and college students.

PubMed

Kjelsberg, Ellen; Skoglund, Tom Hilding; Rustad, Aase-Bente

2007-05-04

Positive attitudes towards prisoners are important in securing the effectiveness of various correctional rehabilitation programs and the successful reintegration of prisoners after release. We wanted to investigate the attitudes towards prisoners among prison inmates, prison employees and college students. The Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale was completed by 298 inmates in 4 Norwegian prisons, 387 employees working in the same prisons, and 183 college students. In addition, all respondents were asked a number of general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. The study groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards prisoners, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale, with prison inmates holding the most positive attitudes. Prison officers held more negative attitudes than other prison employees. Prison employees working in female-only facilities held more positive attitudes than those working in male-only facilities. Students differed significantly in their attitudes, with those studying business economics holding more negative attitudes than those studying nursing. A number of strong correlations emerged between negative attitudes towards prisoners and more pessimistic and punitive answers on general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. The attitudes towards prisoners differed markedly among the groups investigated. The findings could have important implications, particularly for the preventive work carried out in our prisons. Whether attitudes toward prisoners can be influenced by educational programs and the dispersion of factual information needs to be investigated.

Attitudes towards prisoners, as reported by prison inmates, prison employees and college students

PubMed Central

Kjelsberg, Ellen; Skoglund, Tom Hilding; Rustad, Aase-Bente

2007-01-01

Background Positive attitudes towards prisoners are important in securing the effectiveness of various correctional rehabilitation programs and the successful reintegration of prisoners after release. We wanted to investigate the attitudes towards prisoners among prison inmates, prison employees and college students. Methods The Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale was completed by 298 inmates in 4 Norwegian prisons, 387 employees working in the same prisons, and 183 college students. In addition, all respondents were asked a number of general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. Results The study groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards prisoners, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale, with prison inmates holding the most positive attitudes. Prison officers held more negative attitudes than other prison employees. Prison employees working in female-only facilities held more positive attitudes than those working in male-only facilities. Students differed significantly in their attitudes, with those studying business economics holding more negative attitudes than those studying nursing. A number of strong correlations emerged between negative attitudes towards prisoners and more pessimistic and punitive answers on general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. Conclusion The attitudes towards prisoners differed markedly among the groups investigated. The findings could have important implications, particularly for the preventive work carried out in our prisons. Whether attitudes toward prisoners can be influenced by educational programs and the dispersion of factual information needs to be investigated. PMID:17480213

Endogeneity in prison risk classification.

PubMed

Shermer, Lauren O'Neill; Bierie, David M; Stock, Amber

2013-10-01

Security designation tools are a key feature of all prisons in the United States, intended as objective measures of risk that funnel inmates into security levels-to prison environments varying in degree of intrusiveness, restriction, dangerousness, and cost. These tools are mostly (if not all) validated by measuring inmates on a set of characteristics, using scores from summations of that information to assign inmates to prisons of varying security level, and then observing whether inmates assumed more risky did in fact offend more. That approach leaves open the possibility of endogeneity--that the harsher prisons are themselves bringing about higher misconduct and thus biasing coefficients assessing individual risk. The current study assesses this potential bias by following an entry cohort of inmates to more than 100 facilities in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and exploiting the substantial variation in classification scores within a given prison that derive from systematic overrides of security-level designations for reasons not associated with risk of misconduct. By estimating pooled models of misconduct along with prison-fixed effects specifications, the data show that a portion of the predictive accuracy thought associated with the risk-designation tool used in BOP was a function of facility-level contamination (endogeneity).

When and why should mentally ill prisoners be transferred to secure hospitals: a proposed algorithm.

PubMed

Vogel, Tobias; Lanquillon, Stefan; Graf, Marc

2013-01-01

For reasons well known and researched in detail, worldwide prevalence rates for mental disorders are much higher in prison populations than in general, not only for sentenced prisoners but also for prisoners on remand, asylum seekers on warrant for deportation and others. Moreover, the proportion of imprisoned individuals is rising in most countries. Therefore forensic psychiatry must deal not only with the typically young criminal population, vulnerable to mental illness due to social stress and at an age when rates of schizophrenia, suicide, drug abuse and most personality disorders are highest, but also with an increasingly older population with age-related diseases such as dementia. While treatment standards for these mental disorders are largely published and accepted, and scientific evidence as to screening prisoners for mental illness is growing, where to treat them is dependent on considerations for public safety and local conditions such as national legislation, special regulations and the availability of treatment facilities (e.g., in prisons, in special medical wards within prisons or in secure hospitals). While from a medical point of view a mentally ill prisoner should be treated in a hospital, the ultimate decision must consider these different issues. In this article the authors propose an algorithm comprising screening procedures for mental health and a treatment chain for mentally ill prisoners based on treatment facilities in prison, medical safety, human rights, ethics, and the availability of services at this interface between prison and medicine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prisoners' views about the drugs problem in prisons, and the new Prison Service drug strategy.

PubMed

Gore, S M; Bird, A G; Cassidy, J

1999-09-01

Three hundred and seventy-five out of 575 prisoners (222/299 drug users and 153/267 non-users) who responded to a self-completion health care questionnaire at two prisons in 1997 commented on drugs in prisons. One hundred and forty-eight out of 176 responses expressed negative opinions about mandatory drugs testing (MDT), and 107 said that MDT promoted switching to or increased use of heroin/hard drugs'. Sixty-two prisoners suggested that more help/counselling was needed for drug users, 52 segregation of drug users/drug-free wings, and 50 more security on visits/in corridors after medication. The new Prison Service drug strategy has revised random MDT. It targets those who supply drugs, and supports those who want to stop using drugs, and accords with prisoners' views about the heroin problem in prisons.

Letters from Jessup: Notes on a Prison College Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Rollin J.

The Essex Community College (Maryland) full-time college program for maximum security inmates at the House of Correction at Jessup evolved as a natural outlet for numbers of the high school graduates which the prison secondary school was producing. Students proved to be well prepared, highly motivated, and well received by other inmates and the…

Notes from the field: botulism from drinking prison-made illicit alcohol - Arizona, 2012.

PubMed

2013-02-08

During November 24-27, 2012, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) was notified that eight male inmates of prison A, a maximum security prison, had been hospitalized for treatment of an acute neurologic condition suspected to be botulism. Botulism is a serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. All eight patients reported drinking pruno, an illicitly brewed alcoholic beverage that has been associated with botulism outbreaks in prisons. This was the second outbreak of botulism in prison A during 2012; in August, four inmates were hospitalized for botulism after drinking pruno. Pinal County Health Services (PCHS), ADHS, and CDC investigated to identify the outbreak source, learn about pruno production, and provide recommendations for preventing future outbreaks of botulism in prisons.

[Intensive care anaesthesia practice in the prison environment. Can a prisoner benefit from ambulatory anaesthesia].

PubMed

Manaouil, C; Montpellier, D; Sannier, O; Defouilloy, C; Radji, M; Jardé, O; Dupont, H

2010-01-01

Ambulatory anaesthesia is an anesthesia allowing the return of the patient home the same day. Even if the ambulatory hospitalization can, in theory, be applied to a prisoner as to every patient, caution is essential in such approach. Every anaesthetist reanimator doctor practicing in public hospitals may give care to patient prisoners while he is far from dominating all features of the prison world and while he must put down his therapeutic indications. The ambulatory anaesthesia in prison environment does not guarantee full security for the patient. Procedures could be set up between hospital complexes, caretakers practicing within penal middle (Unit of Consultation and Ambulatory Care [UCAC]) the prison service and hospital, the prefecture, to identify possible ambulatory interventions for a patient prisoner and to set up all guarantees of patient follow-up care in his return in prison environment. The development of interregional secure hospital units (ISHU) within teaching hospitals, allows an easier realization of interventions to the prisoners, but exists only in seven teaching hospitals in France. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Teaching Women Prisoners to Write.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritchard, Constance J.

Courses in college composition taught as part of the University of South Carolina's program at the Women's Correctional Center in Columbia, South Carolina, (a minimum security state prison) have proved valuable to prisoners. Despite the problems encountered, including lack of cooperation from the prison administration and inadequacy of available…

Characteristics of inmates receiving prescribed benzodiazepines in a high-security Greek prison.

PubMed

Lekka, Nicoletta P; Paschalis, Christos; Papadourakis, Antonios; Beratis, Stavroula

2003-01-01

The aim of the current study was to investigate the characteristics of Greek inmates that were taking regularly benzodiazepines (BZDs) at therapeutic doses, in the high-security prison of Patras, Greece. Three hundred eighty-four prisoners were included in the study. BZD users (BUs, n = 192), compared with non-BZD users (NBUs, n = 192), were significantly more often unemployed before imprisonment; were significantly more often single, divorced, or widowed; were significantly more often on remand; were taking in significantly greater proportions antidepressant and antipsychotic medications; had significantly more often a history of psychiatric hospitalization; and had significantly more often a history of illicit intravenous (IV) drug use. BUs were significantly more often positive on serum antibodies to hepatitis C (anti-HCV), and scored significantly higher on Hamilton's Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A) and Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the history of psychiatric hospitalization, history of illicit drug use, history of unemployment, symptoms of anxiety, and anti-HCV positivity were independently associated with BZD use in this prison. Medical and psychiatric interventions focusing on anxiety problems, depression, drug addiction, and HCV in this group of BUs are warranted.

Medical devices made into weapons by prisoners: an unrecognized risk.

PubMed

Hayden, J W; Laney, C; Kellermann, A L

1995-12-01

The alteration of a knee immobilizer into a sharp weapon by a prisoner prompted us to survey neighboring penal institutions to determine the frequency of such events. We mailed a nine-item survey to all detention facilities in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi. A second survey was sent to nonresponding institutions 6 weeks after the initial mailing. The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, the designated facility for evaluation and treatment of prisoners from the county jail and state penitentiary. Survey respondents included 25 state penitentiaries, 31 county jails, 1 state minimum-security facility, 1 state maximum-security facility, 1 work-release center, 1 county detention center for drunken-driving offenders, and 1 federal penitentiary. Of the 81 institutions surveyed, 77% responded to one of the two mailings. Forty percent responded in the affirmative when asked whether stolen or unauthorized medical equipment from outside their institutions had been discovered among inmates. When respondents were questioned as to whether medical equipment, prescribed or not, had been used or altered in a criminal manner, 34% responded "yes." Medications and medical appliances were listed in the responses. A survey of 81 local and neighboring penal institutions in a three-state area revealed that the illicit use of medicine and medical devices by prisoners is a legitimate safety concern of prison personnel and health care workers when medical care for inmates must be sought outside the security of their institutions. The modification of medical equipment into weapons by incarcerated patients, although clearly recognized as a security and safety problem by police authorities, appears to be unappreciated by health care workers providing episodic care to inmates.

Treatment needs of prisoners with psychiatric disorders.

PubMed Central

Gunn, J; Maden, A; Swinton, M

1991-01-01

OBJECTIVE--To describe the prevalence of psychiatric disorder and the treatment needs of sentenced prisoners in England and Wales. DESIGN--Population survey based on a 5% sample of men serving prison sentences. SETTING--Sixteen prisons for adult males and nine institutions for male young offenders representative of all prisons in prison type, security levels, and length of sentences. SUBJECTS--406 young offenders and 1478 adult men, 404 and 1365 of whom agreed to be interviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--History of psychiatric disorder, clinical diagnosis of psychiatrist, and required treatment. RESULTS--652 (37%) men had psychiatric disorders diagnosed, of whom 15 (0.8%) had organic disorders, 34 (2%) psychosis, 105 (6%) neurosis, 177 (10%) personality disorder, and 407 (23%) substance misuse. 52 (3%) were judged to require transfer to hospital for psychiatric treatment, 96 (5%) required treatment in a therapeutic community setting, and a further 176 (10%) required further psychiatric assessment or treatment within prison. CONCLUSIONS--By extrapolation the sentenced prison population includes over 700 men with psychosis, and around 1100 who would warrant transfer to hospital for psychiatric treatment. Provision of secure treatment facilities, particularly long term medium secure units, needs to be improved. Services for people with personality, sexual, and substance misuse disorders should be developed in both prisons and the health service. PMID:1912775

[Addiction problems behind prison walls--view of the prison administration].

PubMed

Preusker, H

2000-04-01

As Head of the Prison Administration of Saxony, the author describes the difficulties and problems that exist in the care and treatment of prisoners who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Up to now, these problems have been dealt with in a manner that was too much concentrated on ideas and aspects of security by using systems of control and restrictions. Social contacts inside and outside of the prison and a sense of freedom are, however, the requirements of the legal concept of resettling prisoners. There is a great need for more counselling and therapy. It should also be attempted to improve the conditions for the individual prisoners, e.g. by setting up drug-free units and, thus, provide a environment to the addicts that enables them to live their lives without the daily struggle for drugs and alcohol.

Dual Loyalty in Prison Health Care

PubMed Central

Stöver, Heino; Wolff, Hans

2012-01-01

Despite the dissemination of principles of medical ethics in prisons, formulated and advocated by numerous international organizations, health care professionals in prisons all over the world continue to infringe these principles because of perceived or real dual loyalty to patients and prison authorities. Health care professionals and nonmedical prison staff need greater awareness of and training in medical ethics and prisoner human rights. All parties should accept integration of prison health services with public health services. Health care workers in prison should act exclusively as caregivers, and medical tasks required by the prosecution, court, or security system should be carried out by medical professionals not involved in the care of prisoners. PMID:22390510

Making Ends Meet After Prison

PubMed Central

Harding, David J.; Wyse, Jessica J.B.; Dobson, Cheyney; Morenoff, Jeffrey D.

2014-01-01

Former prisoners are at high risk of economic insecurity due to the challenges they face in finding employment and to the difficulties of securing and maintaining public assistance while incarcerated. This study examines the processes through which former prisoners attain economic security, examining how they meet basic material needs and achieve upward mobility over time. It draws on unique qualitative data from in-depth, unstructured interviews with a sample of former prisoners followed over a two to three year period to assess how subjects draw upon a combination of employment, social supports, and public benefits to make ends meet. Findings reveal considerable struggle among our subjects to meet even minimal needs for shelter and food, although economic security and stability could be attained when employment or public benefits were coupled with familial social support. Sustained economic security was rarely achieved absent either strong social support or access to long-term public benefits. However, a select few were able to leverage material support and social networks into trajectories of upward mobility and economic independence. Policy implications are discussed. PMID:25584015

"Prison Ain't Free Like Everyone Thinks": Financial Stressors Faced by Incarcerated Women.

PubMed

Harner, Holly M; Wyant, Brian R; Da Silva, Fernanda

2017-04-01

Most women in prison are poor and suffer from health problems prior to and during incarceration. Policies that impose inmate medical co-payment fees do not consider gender-specific health needs or other financial stressors faced by women in prison. We examine the financial needs and concerns of incarcerated women through the lens of gender and behavioral economics. We conducted individual interviews with 95 women incarcerated in a medium/maximum security prison in the United States. Women described several common financial stressors during confinement: paying for medical care, "working for pennies," staying in contact with loved ones, and relying on others. In an attempt to remain gender neutral, prison polices often do not consider gender-based differences between male and female prisoners. When gender neutrality is applied to financial policies surrounding access to healthcare, incarcerated women are profoundly disadvantaged and left to make consequential trade-offs with scarce financial resources. Our findings provide important insight into financial stressors facing incarcerated women and provide evidence to support the elimination of mandatory medical co-payment fees for incarcerated women.

HIV and STD testing in prisons: perspectives of in-prison service providers.

PubMed

Grinstead, Olga; Seal, David W; Wolitski, Richard; Flanigan, Timothy; Fitzgerald, Christine; Nealey-Moore, Jill; Askew, John

2003-12-01

Because individuals at risk for HIV and STDs are concentrated in prisons and jails, incarceration is an opportunity to provide HIV and STD testing. We interviewed 72 service providers working in U.S. prisons in four states about their experiences with and perceptions regarding HIV and STD testing in prison. Providers' job duties represented administration, education, security, counseling, and medical care. Providers' knowledge of prison procedures and programs related to HIV and STD testing was narrowly limited to their specific job duties, resulting in many missed opportunities for prevention counseling and referral. Suggestions include increasing health care and counseling staff so posttest counseling can be provided for those with negative as well as positive test results, providing additional prevention programs for incarcerated persons, improving staff training about HIV and STD testing, and improving communication among in-prison providers as well as between corrections and public health staff.

Sport and Physical Activity in a High Security Spanish Prison: An Ethnographic Study of Multiple Meanings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martos-Garcia, Daniel; Devis-Devis, Jose; Sparkes, Andrew C.

2009-01-01

Drawing on data generated by a two-year ethnographic study in a high security Spanish prison, this article explores the multiple meanings given to the social practices of sport and physical activity. We provide details of the following key themes that emerged from the analysis: (a) escaping time; (b) perceived therapeutic benefits; (c) social…

Sex in prisons--a management guide.

PubMed

Awofeso, Niyi; Naoum, Raymond

2002-01-01

Prisons are invariably unisex institutions where, besides many deprivations, heterosexual expression in its normal sense is absent. It is this characteristic that make prisons settings potentially fertile grounds for sexual aberrations. Since definite and accurate data concerning sexual activities among prison inmates are difficult to obtain, the phenomenon of sexual practices in prisons has traditionally been a topic of much speculation. However, the descriptions and explanations of most authors on the subject are often contradictory, and some of the best information are from unpublished sources. This article is an attempt to subsume many fragmented explanations about seven main types of sexual issues in prisons (i.e. consensual homosexuality, masturbation, transsexualism, prostitution, conjugal visits, sex between prisoners and prison staff, and rape among prison inmates) under more general criminological and management concepts. Suggestions for prison administrators on how to manage these complex issues in the best interests of security and inmates' health are also provided.

Literacy as an Act of Creative Resistance: Joining the Work of Incarcerated Teaching Artists at a Maximum-Security Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plemons, Anna

2013-01-01

Considering the situated complexities and competing interest of exploitation and hope inherent in community literacy work, this article examines the ways that the Community Arts Program (CAP) at California State Prison-Sacramento complicates and also reifies archetypal grand literacy narratives and considers the place of such narratives within a…

[Medical ethics in prison medicine].

PubMed

Bernheim, J

1980-11-01

A series of situations and decisions involving medical ethics in a prison medical service are discussed. The doctor's independence is considered in relation to his contract with administrative authorities. In contrast with most private doctor-patient relationships, there is usually no possibility for prisoners to choose their doctor and vice-versa. Freedom of consent on the part of the patient may also imply a right to no-treatment. Medical care in prison is not easy to delineate, also because patients often try to involve the doctor in non-medical demands. A prison doctor should avoid taking part in decisions which ought to be made by the judiciary or by administrative authorities. Programmes involving preventive medicine and sociotherapy imply collaboration between therapeutic and security staff. The continuous interplay and readjustment between powers based on public authority, on the rights of each individual prisoner and on the medical programmes makes it possible for some sort of therapeutic freedom to exist in the prison.

The probability of lava inundation at the proposed and existing Kulani prison sites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kauahikaua, J.P.; Trusdell, F.A.; Heliker, C.C.

1998-01-01

The State of Hawai`i has proposed building a 2,300-bed medium-security prison about 10 km downslope from the existing Kulani medium-security correctional facility. The proposed and existing facilities lie on the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984 in this same general area. We use the best available geologic mapping and dating with GIS software to estimate the average recurrence interval between lava flows that inundate these sites. Three different methods are used to adjust the number of flows exposed at the surface for those flows that are buried to allow a better representation of the recurrence interval. Probabilities are then computed, based on these recurrence intervals, assuming that the data match a Poisson distribution. The probability of lava inundation for the existing prison site is estimated to be 11- 12% in the next 50 years. The probability of lava inundation for the proposed sites B and C are 2- 3% and 1-2%, respectively, in the same period. The probabilities are based on estimated recurrence intervals for lava flows, which are approximately proportional to the area considered. The probability of having to evacuate the prison is certainly higher than the probability of lava entering the site. Maximum warning times between eruption and lava inundation of a site are estimated to be 24 hours for the existing prison site and 72 hours for proposed sites B and C. Evacuation plans should take these times into consideration.

Security and Paperwork Keep Prison Researchers on The Outside

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glenn, David

2008-01-01

The American prison apparatus is larger today than ever before. The Pew Center on the States reported in February 2008 that more than one in 100 American adults live behind bars. However, few are scrutinizing the everyday experiences of the 2.3 million people in American prisons and jails. Scholars who want to do ethnographic fieldwork in prisons…

The Latent Structure of Psychopathy: A Taxometric Investigation of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised in a Heterogeneous Sample of Male Prison Inmates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walters, Glenn D.; Duncan, Scott A.; Mitchell-Perez, Kari

2007-01-01

A taxometric analysis of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is conducted on a group of 409 male maximum-, medium-, and minimum-security federal prison inmates using the four PCL-R facet scores (interpersonal, affective, impulsive lifestyle, and antisocial behavior) as indicators. Results obtained from three quasi-independent taxometric…

Pastoral Group Counselling at a High Security Prison in Israel: Integrating Pierre Janet's Psychological Analysis with Fritz Perls' Gestalt Therapy.

PubMed

Brown, Paul; Brown, Marta

2015-03-01

This is a report of a short-term, pastoral counselling group conducted with Jewish internees in a high security prison in Israel. It was held as an adjunct to daily secular individual and group counselling and rehabilitation run by the Department of Social Work. Pastoral counselling employed spiritual and psychosocial methodologies to reduce anger, improve prisoner frustration tolerance, and develop a sense of self-efficacy and communal identity. It combined semi-didactic scriptural input with Pierre Janet's personality model, Fritz Perls' gestalt therapy, and analysis of the group process. © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions:sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

HIV/AIDS in Lebanese prisons: challenges and proposed actions.

PubMed

Ammar, Diala; Cordova, Alberto

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) crisis in Lebanese prisons, propose functional reforms for Roumieh prisons (the country's largest male top-security prison), and outline the main challenges to HIV/AIDS prevention, intervention, and treatment. All recommendations were based on previous successful stories, international prison standards as well as cultural considerations. This paper argues that prevention and interventions starts within the prison community including inmates, guards, and other prison and provision of appropriate health care, education, and prison infrastructure. These strategies are not only important in limiting prevention and transmission of HIV/AIDS, but also contribute in optimizing quality of life within the prison system. This paper is the first of its kind to discuss the prison situation in Lebanese prisons in terms of public health promotion and reforms.

[Projection of prisoner numbers].

PubMed

Metz, Rainer; Sohn, Werner

2015-01-01

The past and future development of occupancy rates in prisons is of crucial importance for the judicial administration of every country. Basic factors for planning the required penal facilities are seasonal fluctuations, minimum, maximum and average occupancy as well as the present situation and potential development of certain imprisonment categories. As the prisoner number of a country is determined by a complex set of interdependent conditions, it has turned out to be difficult to provide any theoretical explanations. The idea accepted in criminology for a long time that prisoner numbers are interdependent with criminal policy must be regarded as having failed. Statistical and time series analyses may help, however, to identify the factors having influenced the development of prisoner numbers in the past. The analyses presented here, first describe such influencing factors from a criminological perspective and then deal with their statistical identification and modelling. Using the development of prisoner numbers in Hesse as an example, it has been found that modelling methods in which the independent variables predict the dependent variable with a time lag are particularly helpful. A potential complication is, however, that for predicting the number of prisoners the different dynamics in German and foreign prisoners require the development of further models.

HIV, prisoners, and human rights.

PubMed

Rubenstein, Leonard S; Amon, Joseph J; McLemore, Megan; Eba, Patrick; Dolan, Kate; Lines, Rick; Beyrer, Chris

2016-09-17

Worldwide, a disproportionate burden of HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis is present among current and former prisoners. This problem results from laws, policies, and policing practices that unjustly and discriminatorily detain individuals and fail to ensure continuity of prevention, care, and treatment upon detention, throughout imprisonment, and upon release. These government actions, and the failure to ensure humane prison conditions, constitute violations of human rights to be free of discrimination and cruel and inhuman treatment, to due process of law, and to health. Although interventions to prevent and treat HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and drug dependence have proven successful in prisons and are required by international law, they commonly are not available. Prison health services are often not governed by ministries responsible for national public health programmes, and prison officials are often unwilling to implement effective prevention measures such as needle exchange, condom distribution, and opioid substitution therapy in custodial settings, often based on mistaken ideas about their incompatibility with prison security. In nearly all countries, prisoners face stigma and social marginalisation upon release and frequently are unable to access health and social support services. Reforms in criminal law, policing practices, and justice systems to reduce imprisonment, reforms in the organisation and management of prisons and their health services, and greater investment of resources are needed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of prison life of persons with disability in Ghana.

PubMed

Dogbe, Joslin; Owusu-Dabo, Ellis; Edusei, Anthony; Plange-Rhule, Gyikua; Addofoh, Nicholas; Baffour-Awuah, Sandra; Sarfo-Kantanka, Osei; Hammond, Charles; Owusu, Michael

2016-08-08

Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are a unique group that are often overlooked in many developing countries due to systemic weaknesses, lack of political commitment and inadequate support from government and non-governmental agencies. The population of these individuals is however steadily on the increase and currently corresponds to 15 % of the world population. Although much data exist on lifestyle and conditions of prisoners with disabilities in the western world, scanty information is available in Africa. In Ghana, there is insufficient data on the occurrence and social characteristics of prisoners with disabilities. The purpose of this current study was therefore to identify the occurrence, types and causes of disabilities among prisoners serving sentences in Ghanaian prisons. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted in the Male and Female Regional Prisons in Kumasi, Sunyani and the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, from November to December 2011. PWDs were selected by prisons officers and interviewed using structured questionnaires on variables such as socio-demographic characteristics, causes of disabilities and accessibility to recreational facilities. Ethical approval was obtained from the security services and the Committee of Human Research Publications and Ethics (CHRPE) of the School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). We screened 6114 records of prisoners of which 1852 (30.3 %) were from the Kumasi Central Prisons, 3483 (57 %) from the Nsawam Medium Security and 779 (12.8 %) from the Sunyani Central Prisons. A total of 99 PWDs were identified with the commonest disability being physical, followed by visual, hearing, speech, mental and albinism. Most of the disabilities were caused by trauma (68.8 %) followed by infection (16.7 %), and drug related mental disabilities (6.3 %). Fifty (50.5 %) out of the 99 PWDs were not provided with assistive devices although they admitted the need

Care control and collaborative working in a prison hospital.

PubMed

Foster, John; Bell, Linda; Jayasinghe, Neil

2013-03-01

This paper reports findings from a qualitative research project, using interviews, focus groups and participant observations, which sought to investigate "good practice" in a nurse-led prison hospital wing for male prisoners. The study raised issues about tensions between "caring" and "control" of prisoners from the perspectives of professionals working or visiting the wing. This paper discusses collaborative working between professionals from different backgrounds, including nurses and healthcare (prison) officers who were based on the wing and others who visited such as probation, medical, Inreach team or Counselling Advice, Referral, Assessment and Through Care team staff (CARAT). The key finding was that there is a balance between therapy and security/risk. In order to maintain this, the two main groups based on the hospital wing--nurses and prison officers--moved between at times cooperating, coordinating and collaborating with each other to maintain this balance. Other themes were care and control, team working, individual and professional responsibilities and communication issues. Enhancing the role of nurses should be encouraged so that therapy remains paramount, and we conclude with some recommendations to encourage collaborative working in prison healthcare settings to ensure that therapy continues to be paramount while security and safety are maintained.

Prisoners Teaching ESL: A Learning Community among "Language Partners"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olinger, Andrea; Bishop, Hugh; Cabrales, Jose; Ginsburg, Rebecca; Mapp, Joseph; Mayorga, Orlando; Nava, Erick; Nunez, Elfego; Rosas, Otilio; Slater, Andre; Sorenson, LuAnn; Sosnowski, Jim; Torres, Agustin

2012-01-01

This article features Language Partners, an ESL program offered at the Danville Correctional Center, a medium-security men's prison in central Illinois. The program in which prisoners teach ESL classes, supported by volunteer teacher-trainers, is a learning community with immense and sometimes unforeseen value. The authors discuss reasons for…

An ecological analysis of prison overcrowding and suicide rates in England and Wales, 2000-2014.

PubMed

van Ginneken, Esther F J C; Sutherland, Alex; Molleman, Toon

Prisoners are at a greatly increased risk of suicides compared to the general population. Differences in suicide risk can be partly explained by individual risk factors, but the contribution of prison characteristics remains unclear. Overcrowded prisons have higher suicide rates, but this may be related to prison function, security level, population size and turnover. The aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution of each of these prison characteristics to suicide rates, using data from the Ministry of Justice for adult prisons in England and Wales from 2000 to 2014. Negative binomial regression analysis showed that larger population size, higher turnover, higher security and public management were associated with higher suicide rates. When controlling for these factors, overcrowding was not found to be related to suicide rates. Questions remain about the causal mechanisms underlying variation in prison suicides and the impact of the lived experience of overcrowding. Further research is needed to examine the relative contribution of prison and prisoner characteristics to suicides. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Working through mass incarceration: gender and the politics of prison labor from east to west.

PubMed

Haney, Lynne A

2010-01-01

This article explores the politics and practices of labor in two penal institutions for women: a maximum security facility for women in Hungary and a community‐based facility for women in California. Diverging from other accounts of imprisonment that tend to operate at either the individual or macroeconomic level, this article analyzes the concrete institutional relations of prison and complicates the assumption that they simply reflect the logic of the prison‐industrial complex. Based on years of ethnographic work in two very different penal systems, I describe variation in how prisons institute labor within and across institutions and cultures: the Hungarian facility positioned wage labor as a right and an obligation that formed the basis of women’s social relationships and ties to others, while the U.S. prison excluded wage labor from women’s lives so they could get on with the work of self‐improvement and personal healing. From the comparison, I reveal how prisons can both draw on and subvert broader social meanings assigned to women’s work, making it difficult to view prison labor as wholly exploitative or abusive. I also argue that refusing to allow female inmates to engage in wage labor can be a more profound form of punishment than requiring it of them. By juxtaposing the discourses and practices of work in two very different penal contexts, this article offers a critical reflection on the political economy of prison labor from the ground up.

Prison staff and prisoner views on a prison smoking ban: evidence from the Tobacco in Prisons Study.

PubMed

Brown, Ashley; Sweeting, Helen; Logan, Greig; Demou, Evangelia; Hunt, Kate

2018-05-15

In jurisdictions permitting prisoner smoking, rates are high (c75%), with smoking embedded in prison culture, leading to secondhand smoke exposures among staff and prisoners and challenges for smoking cessation. Momentum is building to ban smoking in prisons, but research on staff and prisoner views is lacking. We address this gap, providing evidence on staff and prisoner views throughout all Scottish prisons. Data were collected prior to announcement of a (November 2018) prison smoking ban throughout Scotland. Mixed methods were used: surveys of staff (online, N=1,271, ~27%) and prisoners (questionnaire, N=2,512, ~34%); 17 focus groups and two paired interviews with staff in 14 prisons. Staff were more positive than prisoners about bans and increased smoking restrictions, although prisoner views were more favourable should e-cigarettes be permitted. Non-smokers were more positive than smokers. Whilst 74% staff and 22% prisoners agreed bans were a good idea, both groups acknowledged implementation and enforcement challenges. Staff views were influenced by beliefs about: acceptability of the policy in principle; and whether/how bans could be achieved. Although some voiced doubts about smoke-free policies, staff likened a ban to other operational challenges. Staff raised concerns around needs for appropriate measures, resources and support, adequate lead-in time, and effective communication prior to a ban. We recommend that regular and open opportunities for dialogue within and between different stakeholder groups are created when preparing for prison smoking bans, and that specific measures to address staff and prisoner concerns are incorporated into plans to create and maintain smoke-free environments. To our knowledge, this study is the first to research staff and prisoner views across a whole prison system prior to implementation of smoke-free policies. The results highlight potential challenges and suggest measures which might help to maximise the success of

Growing health in UK prison settings.

PubMed

Baybutt, Michelle; Dooris, Mark; Farrier, Alan

2018-05-29

Globally, prisoners tend to come from marginalized and socially disadvantaged sections of the society and exhibit a high incidence of ill health, linked to social exclusion and multiple complex needs. Prisons therefore offer an important opportunity to tackle inequality and injustice, through promoting health, reducing reoffending and facilitating community reintegration.This paper reports on and critically discusses findings from an evaluative research study, which aimed to identify and explore impacts of prisoners' participation in an innovative social and therapeutic horticultural programme, 'Greener on the Outside for Prisons' (GOOP), delivered in prisons in North West England. Focus groups with 16 prisoners and semi-structured interviews with six prison staff were conducted at five sites. Presented under three overarching themes (health and well-being; skills development, employability, and work preparedness; and relationships), findings suggest that engagement with and participation in GOOP were important in improving positive mental well-being, increasing physical activity and knowledge about healthier eating; developing skills and work readiness; and building relationships and catalysing and strengthening prosocial behaviours, important for good citizenship and effective resettlement. The paper concludes that - in the context of the current UK prison reform agenda and concern about the high incidence of violence, substance misuse, self-harm and suicide - prison-based horticulture can offer multiple benefits and make a significant contribution to the creation of safe, secure, supportive and health-enhancing environments. Furthermore, it contends that by joining up health and justice agendas, programmes such as GOOP have the potential to serve as powerful catalysts for wider systemic change, thereby helping tackle inequalities and social exclusion within societies across the globe.

Federally-Assisted Healthcare Coverage among Male State Prisoners with Chronic Health Problems

PubMed Central

Rosen, David L.; Grodensky, Catherine A.; Holley, Tara K.

2016-01-01

Prisoners have higher rates of chronic diseases such as substance dependence, mental health conditions and infectious disease, as compared to the general population. We projected the number of male state prisoners with a chronic health condition who at release would be eligible or ineligible for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We used ACA income guidelines in conjunction with reported pre-arrest social security benefits and income from a nationally representative sample of prisoners to estimate the number eligible for healthcare coverage at release. There were 643,290 US male prisoners aged 18–64 with a chronic health condition. At release, 73% in Medicaid-expansion states would qualify for Medicaid or tax credits. In non-expansion states, 54% would qualify for tax credits, but 22% (n = 69,827) had incomes of ≤ 100% the federal poverty limit and thus would be ineligible for ACA-mediated healthcare coverage. These prisoners comprise 11% of all male prisoners with a chronic condition. The ACA was projected to provide coverage to most male state prisoners with a chronic health condition; however, roughly 70,000 fall in the “coverage gap” and may require non-routine care at emergency departments. Mechanisms are needed to secure coverage for this at risk group and address barriers to routine utilization of health services. PMID:27479089

Federally-Assisted Healthcare Coverage among Male State Prisoners with Chronic Health Problems.

PubMed

Rosen, David L; Grodensky, Catherine A; Holley, Tara K

2016-01-01

Prisoners have higher rates of chronic diseases such as substance dependence, mental health conditions and infectious disease, as compared to the general population. We projected the number of male state prisoners with a chronic health condition who at release would be eligible or ineligible for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We used ACA income guidelines in conjunction with reported pre-arrest social security benefits and income from a nationally representative sample of prisoners to estimate the number eligible for healthcare coverage at release. There were 643,290 US male prisoners aged 18-64 with a chronic health condition. At release, 73% in Medicaid-expansion states would qualify for Medicaid or tax credits. In non-expansion states, 54% would qualify for tax credits, but 22% (n = 69,827) had incomes of ≤ 100% the federal poverty limit and thus would be ineligible for ACA-mediated healthcare coverage. These prisoners comprise 11% of all male prisoners with a chronic condition. The ACA was projected to provide coverage to most male state prisoners with a chronic health condition; however, roughly 70,000 fall in the "coverage gap" and may require non-routine care at emergency departments. Mechanisms are needed to secure coverage for this at risk group and address barriers to routine utilization of health services.

Assisted suicide for prisoners? Stakeholder and prisoner perspectives.

PubMed

Shaw, David M; Elger, Bernice S

2016-09-01

For a wider project on aging in prison, the authors interviewed 35 older prisoners and 24 stakeholders (prison staff, prison healthcare professionals, and policy makers) about healthcare for prisoners. In all, 6 prisoners and 3 stakeholders spontaneously expressed their attitudes concerning assisted suicide. Some prisoners seek assisted suicide for medical reasons and others because they regard spending the rest of their lives in prison as undignified. However, stakeholders identified several ethical and practical challenges in providing assisted suicide to prisoners. This article presents these perspectives on assisted suicide in prison and provides an ethical analysis of the issues raised.

Prevalence and correlates of latent tuberculosis infection among employees of a high security prison in Malaysia

PubMed Central

Al-Darraji, Haider Abdulrazzaq Abed; Tan, Cynthia; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L

2015-01-01

Objectives Although prison employees share the same tuberculosis (TB) risk environment with prisoners, the magnitude of TB problems among prison employees is unknown in most resource-limited prisons. This survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence and correlates of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity among employees in Malaysia’s largest prison. Methods Consented, full-time prison employees were interviewed using a structured questionnaire that included sociodemographic data, history of working in the correctional system and TB-related risk. TST was placed intradermally and read after 48–72 h. Induration size of ≥10 mm was considered positive. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore associations with TST positivity. Results Of the 445 recruited prison employees, 420 (94.4%) had complete data. Most were young (median=30.0 years) men (88.8%) who had only worked at this prison (76.4%) for a median total employment period of 60 months (IQR 34.5–132.0). The majority were correctional officers, while civilian employees represented only 7.6% of the sample. Only 26 (6.2%) reported having ever been screened for TB since employment. Prevalence of TST positivity was 81% and was independently associated with longer (≥12 months) prison employment (AOR 4.9; 95% CI 1.5 to 15.9) and current tobacco smoking (AOR=1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.2). Conclusions Latent TB prevalence was high in this sample, approximating that of prisoners in this setting, perhaps suggesting within prison TB transmission in this facility. Formal TB control programmes for personnel and prisoners alike are urgently needed within the Malaysian correctional system. PMID:25794506

Anxiety and styles of coping with occupational stress resulting from work with 'dangerous' prisoners in prison service officers.

PubMed

Tsirigotis, Konstantinos; Gruszczyński, Wojciech; Pęczkowski, Sebastian

2015-10-01

Prisoners categorised as 'dangerous' are a category of prisoners that require and/or force into using special measures of caution, protection and security. The aim of the study was to examine the intensity of anxiety (as a state and as a trait) experienced by officers working with 'dangerous' prisoners and styles of coping with stress they adopt. A total of 40 officers working with 'dangerous' prisoners (the study group, SG) and 60 officers of the security department not working with 'dangerous' prisoners (the reference group, RG) were studied. The intensity of anxiety was assessed applying the Polish version of 'State-Trait Anxiety Inventory' (STAI); styles of coping with stress were explored employing the Polish version of 'Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations' (CISS) and the author's own questionnaire. Data were analysed using the mean, standard deviation, difference testing (the Mann-Whitney U test), correlation-regression procedure (Kendall's tau, τ correlation coefficient and forward stepwise multiple regression). Officers in the SG faced verbal and physical aggression; nevertheless, scores of officers in both the groups were within the interval of mean scores for all the studied STAI and CISS variables. Officers in the SG achieved significantly higher scores on the state-anxiety scale and the Emotion-Oriented Style (EOS), and lower scores on the Task-Oriented Style (TOS) and Social Diversion (SD). The correlation-regression procedure indicated that there were relationships between anxiety and styles of coping with stress but they differed slightly between the groups. Officers in the SG feel state anxiety stronger and display a stronger preference for the EOS than officers in the RG. Officers in the RG more strongly prefer the TOS and SD. State anxiety is a variable negatively explaining the TOS in the SG, whereas anxiety as a trait is a variable explaining the EOS in both the groups. The coping styles of warders dealing with dangerous prisoners are

Job stress among Iranian prison employees.

PubMed

Akbari, J; Akbari, R; Farasati, F; Mahaki, B

2014-10-01

Exposure to job stress causes deleterious effects on physical and mental health of employees and productivity of organizations. To study work-related stressors among employees of prisons of Ilam, western Iran. In a cross-sectional study conducted from July to October 2013, 177 employees of Ilam prisons and security-corrective measures organization were enrolled in this study. The UK Health and Safety Executive Organization 35-item questionnaire for assessment of occupational stress was used to determine job stress among the studied employees. Job stress was highest among employees of "correction and rehabilitation center" of Ilam province followed by "Dalab vocational training center." There was no significant relationship between occupational stress and age, work experience, level of education, marital status, sex of employees, and obesity. Employees of prisons, for their nature of job and work environment, are exposed to high level of occupational stress.

Grief Counseling Groups in a Medium-Security Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Margaret J.; McEwen, Margaret A.

2004-01-01

The authors discuss their facilitation of four grief counseling groups with male inmates in a state prison over a two-year period. Worden's Tasks of Mourning were used as a guide for the group process. Disenfranchised grief and gender and cultural issues in grieving are explored. Catalytic exercises are described, and written feedback from inmates…

Prevalence and correlates of latent tuberculosis infection among employees of a high security prison in Malaysia.

PubMed

Al-Darraji, Haider Abdulrazzaq Abed; Tan, Cynthia; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L

2015-06-01

Although prison employees share the same tuberculosis (TB) risk environment with prisoners, the magnitude of TB problems among prison employees is unknown in most resource-limited prisons. This survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence and correlates of tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity among employees in Malaysia's largest prison. Consented, full-time prison employees were interviewed using a structured questionnaire that included sociodemographic data, history of working in the correctional system and TB-related risk. TST was placed intradermally and read after 48-72 h. Induration size of ≥10 mm was considered positive. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore associations with TST positivity. Of the 445 recruited prison employees, 420 (94.4%) had complete data. Most were young (median=30.0 years) men (88.8%) who had only worked at this prison (76.4%) for a median total employment period of 60 months (IQR 34.5-132.0). The majority were correctional officers, while civilian employees represented only 7.6% of the sample. Only 26 (6.2%) reported having ever been screened for TB since employment. Prevalence of TST positivity was 81% and was independently associated with longer (≥12 months) prison employment (AOR 4.9; 95% CI 1.5 to 15.9) and current tobacco smoking (AOR=1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.2). Latent TB prevalence was high in this sample, approximating that of prisoners in this setting, perhaps suggesting within prison TB transmission in this facility. Formal TB control programmes for personnel and prisoners alike are urgently needed within the Malaysian correctional system. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Prison-Based Relationship Counselling: Service User Perceptions and Implications for Resettlement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meek, Rosie

2011-01-01

This article is based on a brief evaluation carried out on behalf of the relationship counselling service, Relate, regarding the delivery of a pilot specialist counselling service for adult male prisoners at HMP Ford, a low security "category D" prison in the South East of England. At the heart of the research lies a focus on the…

Confronting America's most ignored crime problem: the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.

PubMed

Dumond, Robert W

2003-01-01

Prisoner sexual assault has plagued American corrections since its infancy in the 19th century. Although the incidence of prisoner sexual assault is unknown, recent studies reliably suggest the problem is widespread, often affecting the most vulnerable prisoners. The mental health and public health consequences, both within institutions and the community, are complex and devastating, requiring comprehensive intervention and treatment. These crimes have been largely ignored by correctional managers, compromising the safety and security of correctional institutions. The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 could play a vital role in managing a national scandal.

Prison Volunteers: Profiles, Motivations, Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tewksbury, Richard; Dabney, Dean

2004-01-01

Large numbers of correctional institutions rely on volunteers to assist staff in various programs and tasks. At present there exists a paucity of literature describing these programs and/or subjecting them to systematic evaluation. The present study uses self-report data from a sample of active volunteers at a medium-security Southern prison to…

Recidivism after Release from a Prison Nursery Program

PubMed Central

Goshin, Lorie S.; Byrne, Mary W.; Henninger, Alana M.

2013-01-01

Objective To analyze three-year recidivism after release from a prison nursery, a secure unit that allows imprisoned women to care for their infants. Design and Sample Descriptive study of 139 women who co-resided with their infants between 2001–2007 in X prison nursery. Measurement Administrative criminal justice data were analyzed along with prospective study data on demographic, mental health, and prison nursery policy-related factors. Results Results reflect a sample of young women of color with histories of clinically significant depressive symptoms and substance dependence, who were convicted of nonviolent crimes and had multiple prior arrests. Three years after release 86.3% remained in the community. Only 4% of women returned to prison for new crimes. Survival modeling indicated that women who had previously violated parole had a significantly shorter mean return to prison time than those who were in the nursery for a new crime. Conclusion Women released from a prison nursery have a low likelihood of recidivism. Innovative interventions are needed to address incarceration’s public health effects. Nurses can partner with criminal justice organizations to develop, implement, and evaluate programs to ensure the health needs of criminal justice involved people and their families are met. PMID:24588129

Recidivism after release from a prison nursery program.

PubMed

Goshin, Lorie S; Byrne, Mary W; Henninger, Alana M

2014-01-01

To analyze 3-year recidivism after release from a prison nursery, a secure unit that allows imprisoned women to care for their infants. Descriptive study of 139 women who co-resided with their infants between 2001 and 2007 in a New York State prison nursery. Administrative criminal justice data were analyzed along with prospective study data on demographic, mental health, and prison nursery policy-related factors. Results reflect a sample of young women of color with histories of clinically significant depressive symptoms and substance dependence, who were convicted of nonviolent crimes and had multiple prior arrests. Three years after release 86.3% remained in the community. Only 4% of women returned to prison for new crimes. Survival modeling indicated that women who had previously violated parole had a significantly shorter mean return to prison time than those who were in the nursery for a new crime. Women released from a prison nursery have a low likelihood of recidivism. Innovative interventions are needed to address incarceration's public health effects. Nurses can partner with criminal justice organizations to develop, implement, and evaluate programs to ensure the health needs of criminal justice involved people and their families are met. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recorded psychiatric morbidity in a large prison for male remanded and sentenced prisoners.

PubMed

Mitchison, S; Rix, K J; Renvoize, E B; Schweiger, M

1994-10-01

The purpose of the study was to establish the proportion of remanded and convicted prisoners who were known from their records to have a psychiatric history. The inmate medical records of 834 out of 864 inmates resident on one day at HM Prison, Leeds, were studied. There was a recorded history of 23 per cent having seen a psychiatrist, 15 per cent having taken drugs and 16 per cent having a history of depression or self-harm. Out of 43 inmates interviewed, 18 admitted to failing to report such a history upon reception. There were eight former long-stay psychiatric patients, but only two of these had been in a hospital other than a special hospital or Regional Secure Unit. Out of the 36 residents of the hospital wing, 33 had psychiatric disorders and 10 were awaiting transfer to NHS or private psychiatric services. Various recommendations are made which may lead to an improvement in the medical reception procedure, more informed screening for suicide risk and mental disorder, greater understanding of the psychiatric histories of patients, an audit of prison health care and more effective planning of aftercare.

Insomnia management in prisons in England and Wales: a mixed-methods study.

PubMed

Dewa, Lindsay H; Hassan, Lamiece; Shaw, Jenny J; Senior, Jane

2017-06-01

Insomnia in prison is common; however, research is limited regarding the management strategies that prison establishments employ. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a survey to identify how insomnia is detected, diagnosed and treated in adult prisons in England and Wales. Telephone interviews with a purposive sample of health-care managers were then conducted. The survey was sent to all establishments holding adult prisoners, covering screening and assessment methods to detect insomnia; treatment options, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological; the importance of insomnia as a treatable condition; and staff training available. Eighty-four (73%) prisons completed the survey. Few had a stepped approach to insomnia management, as recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The most common treatments available were sleep hygiene education and medication, offered by 94 and 88% of respondents, respectively. Analysis of telephone interviews revealed four main themes: insomnia as a normal occurrence in prison; the problem of medication in prison; the negative impact of the prison environment; and effective management of insomnia in prison. The current findings suggest that logistical, ethical and security barriers and a lack of staff knowledge and training impact negatively on the management of insomnia in prison. © 2017 European Sleep Research Society.

Screening Prisoners for Intellectual Disabilities in Three English Prisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Glynis H.; Gardner, Jeff; Freeman, Mark J.

2017-01-01

Background: Prisoners with intellectual disabilities are known to be disadvantaged in prisons and to be more susceptible to bullying, segregation, depression and anxiety than other prisoners. Method: In this study, nearly 3000 new prisoners entering three English prisons were offered screening for intellectual disabilities, using the LDSQ.…

Intergenerational transmission of attachment for infants raised in a prison nursery.

PubMed

Byrne, M W; Goshin, L S; Joestl, S S

2010-07-01

Within a larger intervention study, attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure for 30 infants who co-resided with their mothers in a prison nursery. Sixty percent of infants were classified secure, 75% who co-resided a year or more and 43% who co-resided less than a year, all within the range of normative community samples. The year-long co-residing group had significantly more secure and fewer disorganized infants than predicted by their mothers' attachment status, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview, and a significantly greater proportion of secure infants than meta-analyzed community samples of mothers with low income, depression, or drug/alcohol abuse. Using intergenerational data collected with rigorous methods, this study provides the first evidence that mothers in a prison nursery setting can raise infants who are securely attached to them at rates comparable to healthy community children, even when the mother's own internal attachment representation has been categorized as insecure.

Intergenerational Transmission of Attachment for Infants Raised in a Prison Nursery

PubMed Central

Byrne, M. W.; Goshin, L. S.; Joestl, S. S.

2010-01-01

Within a larger intervention study, attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure for 30 infants who co-resided with their mothers in a prison nursery. Sixty percent of infants were classified secure, 75% who co-resided a year or more and 43% who co-resided less than a year, all within the range of normative community samples. The year-long co-residing group had significantly more secure and fewer disorganized infants than predicted by their mothers’ attachment status, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview, and a significantly greater proportion of secure infants than meta-analyzed community samples of mothers with low income, depression, or drug/alcohol abuse. Using intergenerational data collected with rigorous methods, this study provides the first evidence that mothers in a prison nursery setting can raise infants who are securely attached to them at rates comparable to healthy community children, even when the mother’s own internal attachment representation has been categorized as insecure. PMID:20582846

Variations in prison mental health services in England and Wales.

PubMed

Forrester, Andrew; Exworthy, Tim; Olumoroti, Olumuyiwa; Sessay, Mohammed; Parrott, Janet; Spencer, Sarah-Jane; Whyte, Sean

2013-01-01

In responding to high levels of psychiatric morbidity amongst prisoners and recognising earlier poor quality prison mental health care, prison mental health in-reach teams have been established in England and Wales over the last decade. They are mostly provided by the National Health Service (NHS), which provides the majority of UK healthcare services. Over the same period, the prison population has grown to record levels, such that prisons in England and Wales now contain almost 90,000 of the world's overall prison population of over 10 million people (roughly the size of Paris or Istanbul). This study provides an overview of mental health in-reach services in prisons in England and Wales, including variations between them, through a telephone survey of senior staff in all prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. 73% of prisons took part; of them 13% had no in-reach team at all (usually low security establishments) and the majority of services were run by NHS teams, usually according to a generic community mental health team (CMHT) model rather than other specialist models. Team size was unrelated to prison size. Each nurse covered around 500 prisoners, each doctor over 3700. Many provided few or no healthcare cells and 24-h psychiatric cover (including on-call cover) was uncommon. Despite developments in recent years, mental health in-reach services still fall short of community equivalence and there is wide variation in service arrangements that cannot be explained by prison size or function. The aim of community equivalence has not yet been reached in prison healthcare and a more sophisticated measure of service improvement and standardisation would now be useful to drive and monitor future development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Essential Elements of an Effective and Sustainable Prison Hospice Program

PubMed Central

Cloyes, Kristin G.; Rosenkranz, Susan J.; Berry, Patricia H.; Supiano, Katherine P.; Routt, Meghan; Shannon-Dorcy, Kathleen; Llanque, Sarah M.

2015-01-01

As the number of prison inmates facing end-stage chronic illness grows, more prisons across the U.S. must address the need for end-of-life care. Many will likely need to develop a plan with potentially limited resources and external support. This case study presents one long-running model of care, the Louisiana State Penitentiary Prison Hospice Program. Based on field observations and in-depth interviews with hospice staff, inmate volunteers and corrections officers, we identify five essential elements that have contributed to the long-term operation of this program: patient-centered care, an inmate volunteer model, safety and security, shared values, and teamwork. We describe key characteristics of each of these elements, discuss how they align with earlier recommendations and research, and show how their integration supports a sustained model of prison end-of-life care. PMID:25735806

[The actions of the Public Prosecution Service in the field of health in prisons].

PubMed

Puppim, Érika Bastos Targino

2016-06-01

In the violent, insalubrious and overpopulated prison environment in which the concerns of penitentiary managers are predominantly focused on security, several actors of the legal world work incessantly to ensure that prisoners enjoy living conditions and access to health care in accordance with their constitutional rights. However, their discourses only appear infrequently in academic research and studies on health in prisons. We decided to ask for the opinion of a District Attorney of the State Public Prosecution Office, Dr. Érika Puppim to share with readers her view and the difficulties in her role in the protection of prisoners.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND NIGERIAN PRISONERS--ARE PRISONERS NOT HUMANS?

PubMed

Joshua, I A; Dangata, Y Y; Audu, O; Nmadu, A G; Omole, N V

2014-12-01

In Nigeria, just like in many other parts of the world, one of the most extensively discussed issues on the public agenda today is the increase in prison population. The aims of imprisonment are protection, retribution, deterrence, reformation and vindication. Investigations revealed that the prison services have been,neglected more than any other criminal justice agency in Nigeria. For example, most of the prisons were built during the colonial era for the purpose of accommodating a small number of inmates. Human Rights are the basic guarantees for human beings to be able to achieve happiness and self-respect; consequently, in most jurisdictions, the Human Rights Act confirms that these Rights do not stop at the prison gates. However, most States fail to meet the Human Rights obligations of their prisoners. As regards to health, for example, every prison should have proper health facilities and medical staff to provide dental and psychiatric care among others. This article discusses the Nigerian Prison System and challenges, trends and the related Human Rights and Ethical issues in Nigerian prisons. Some of the unmet needs of Nigerian prisoners which include, inter alia, living in unwholesome cells, delayed trial of inmates, lack of voting rights, access to information, lack of conjugal facilities for married prisoners, poor and inadequate nutrition, poor medical care, torture, inhumane treatment and the need to protect prisoners in a changing world. The present report has policy implications for reforming prison services in Nigeria, and countries that sing from the same song sheet with Nigeria on prison services, to conform to the Fundamental Human Rights of prisoners in the 21St century.

A Multilevel Analysis of the Relationship Between Cell Sharing, Staff-Prisoner Relationships, and Prisoners' Perceptions of Prison Quality.

PubMed

Molleman, Toon; van Ginneken, Esther F J C

2015-09-01

Prisons worldwide operate under crowded conditions, in which prisoners are forced to share a cell. Few studies have looked at the relationship between cell sharing and the quality of prison life in Europe. This study aims to fill this gap with a multilevel analysis on the link between cell sharing and quality of prison life, using results from a Dutch prisoner survey. Findings show that cell sharing is associated with lower perceived prison quality, which is partially mediated by reduced quality of staff-prisoner relationships. Cell sharing thus undermines the Dutch penological philosophy, which considers staff-prisoner relationships to be at the heart of prisoner treatment and rehabilitation. It is recommended that prisoners are held in single rather than double cells. © The Author(s) 2014.

Prisoners, Prison, and Religion: Religion and Adjustment to Prison.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clear, Todd R.; Sumter, Melvina T.

2002-01-01

Explore the relationship between inmate religiousness and adjustment to prison and the number of disciplinary confinements they receive. Findings indicate that a significant relationship exists between inmate religiousness and multiple measures of inmate adjustment to the prison environment. (Contains 81 references and 7 tables.) (GCP)

7 CFR 4290.845 - Maximum rate of amortization on Loans and Debt Securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... INVESTMENT COMPANY (âRBICâ) PROGRAM Financing of Enterprises by RBICs Structuring Rbic Financing of Eligible Enterprises-Types of Financings § 4290.845 Maximum rate of amortization on Loans and Debt Securities. The...

Teaching Geology at San Quentin State Prison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Alessio, M. A.; Pehl, J.; Ferrier, K. L.; Pehl, C. W.

2004-12-01

The students enrolled in our Geology 215 class are about as on-traditional as it gets. They range in age from about 20 - 50 years old, they are all male, all from under-represented ethnic groups, and they are all serving time in one of the country's most notorious prisons. We teach in a degree-granting community college program inside California's San Quentin State Prison. The program is run entirely by volunteers, and students who participate in educational programs like ours are about 5 times less likely to return to prison than the general inmate population in California. The prison population of California is ethnically diverse, though minorities are present in higher proportion than in the general population. Last semester, our geology class happened to be composed entirely of minorities even though the college program serves the full spectrum of the prison population. While some trends in geoscience education encourage the use of technology in the classroom, security restrictions prevent us from using even some of the simplest visual aids. Faced with these challenges, we have developed an inquiry-based syllabus for an introductory Geology class at the community college level. We find that kinaesthetic learning activities such as urban geologic mapping and acting out plate tectonic motions from ridge to trench (complete with magnetic pole polarity shifts) are not only possible in restricted learning environments, but they promote student learning in unexpected ways.

Fear of rape from behind prison walls.

PubMed

Shermer, Lauren O'Neill; Sudo, Heather

2017-06-12

Purpose The Prison Rape Elimination Act has brought significant attention to the issue of sexual victimization within correctional institutions. While the actual risk of sexual victimization remains low, the perception of rape among inmates is high. Given how one's fear can translate into behavior, understanding how institutions impact the culture surrounding prison rape highlights areas for reducing violence within prisons. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This study includes secondary analysis of a quantitative database created from semi-structured interviews with 564 high security, general population inmates. Using fear of rape as the outcome of interest, bivariate and logistic regression analyses are used to comment on the impact of individual and facility level characteristics on this outcome. Findings In general, the results from this study suggest that the greatest risk factors for fearing rape while in prison are being male, having a mental health issue, and hearing about rape within the institution. From these specific findings a few general lessons can be learned with the hope that practitioners can translate these lessons into policy initiatives in order to combat fear of rape among our inmate population. Originality/value This paper aims to fill a gap in the research on how the facility contributes to the fear of rape within prison. The end goal is to inform policy makers so that suggestions can be made to combat this problem and prevent further misconduct within these facilities.

Prison prescribing practice: practitioners' perspectives on why prison is different.

PubMed

Bartlett, A; Dholakia, N; England, R; Hales, H; van Horn, E; McGeorge, T; Moss, B; Ovaisi, S; Tukmachi, E; Patel, S

2014-04-01

The current prison population in England and Wales has multiple, complex healthcare needs, presenting unique challenges to those caring for prisoners. Prison numbers have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. There are now approximately 84,000 prisoners in England and Wales and 120,000 new episodes of imprisonment each year . The authors all contribute to prison healthcare. Below, we discuss a key issue arising from first-hand experience of prisoners' health and social care needs, the prescription of psycho-active drugs by primary and secondary care practitioners. This is a core medical task, but beset with difficulties. These difficulties are not necessarily encountered in other areas of prison healthcare. However, they do illustrate how providing healthcare to prisoners is complex, often lacking a research base and can have pitfalls that are not obvious to the outsider. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Inside Prison Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogel, Brenda; And Others

1989-01-01

Issues related to prison libraries are discussed in six articles. Topics covered include the history of American penitentiary ideology; standards for prison libraries; the controversy as to whether prison libraries should serve prisoners or be used as penological tools; and the lack of knowledge about prison libraries within the general library…

Tuberculosis among prison staff in Rio Grande do Sul.

PubMed

Busatto, Caroline; Nunes, Luciana de Souza; Valim, Andréia Rosane de Moura; Valença, Mariana Soares; Krug, Suzane Frantz; Becker, Daniela; Allgayer, Manuela Filter; Possuelo, Lia Gonçalves

2017-04-01

to evaluate the risk of infection and illness caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis among health care and security staff in prisons in two regions of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). cross-sectional study involving prison staff. An interview and sputum smear microscopy and culture were performed. Latent infection was evaluated according to the result of the tuberculin test (TT), self-referred. among staff who had a TT, 10 (83.3%) in the central region and 2 (16.7%) in the southern region were considered reactors. Length of employment among prison officers who reacted to TT was 15.3 years, and among health care workers, 4.1 years (p = 0.01). No cases of active tuberculosis (TB) were identified. prevalence of latent TB was 27.9%. Length of employment between different professional categories and their working regions was considered a risk factor for latent TB.

An Inmate Classification System Based on PCL: SV Factor Scores in a Sample of Prison Inmates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wogan, Michael; Mackenzie, Marci

2007-01-01

Psychopaths represent a significant management challenge in a prison population. A sample of ninety-five male inmates from three medium security prisons was tested using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). Using traditional criteria, 22% of the inmates were classified as psychopaths. Scores on the two factor dimensions of…

Social characteristics, HIV/AIDS knowledge, preventive practices and risk factors elicitation among prisoners in Lagos, Nigeria.

PubMed

Odujinrin, M T; Adebajo, S B

2001-01-01

Although many behavioral research studies and public enlightenment campaigns have been undertaken by both government and non-governmental organizations in the general public, no such study has been documented on prison inmates in Nigeria. This study aimed at documenting the social characteristics, HIV/AIDS knowledge and preventive practices of selected prisoners in Nigeria. It also elicited risk factors HIV/AIDS transmission in Nigeria prisons. A cross-sectional study of prison inmates using an anonymous risk-factors identification questionnaire was undertaken in January 1997. The Kiri-kiri (maximum, medium and female) prisons were selected by balloting. Thereafter, two hundred and fifty two inmates were selected by systematic random sampling method using the full listing of all inmates as at the time of the survey. The study comprised of an interview session using a well structured questionnaire to seek information about their social data, their knowledge about HIV/AIDS including its transmission and preventive social data, and their indulgence in HIV/AIDS risky behaviour. The majority (53.6%) of the respondents were in the age group 20-29 years, 18 (7.1%) were less than 20 years old one of whom was in the maximum-security prison and three were females (table 1). The majority (52%) had secondary education while 9.9% had tertiary education and 7.1% had no formal education. About 97.2% of the study population had heard about AIDS although only 20.6% had known or seen someone with AIDS before and about 34.1% knew the causative agent of AIDS. 60.3% knew the correct mode of transmission of AIDS. 15.5% claimed fidelity and 12.7 % claimed use of condom for casual sexual contact, were measures that could help prevent AIDS but 7.9% did not know any preventive measure. Since hearing about AIDS, 59.5% claimed to have taken steps to protect themselves. 42.7% of the 89 who had not taken any protective steps against AIDS had no knowledge of how to protect themselves. About 56

Ethical issues of prison nursing: A qualitative study in Northern Italy.

PubMed

Sasso, Loredana; Delogu, Barbara; Carrozzino, Roberto; Aleo, Giuseppe; Bagnasco, Annamaria

2018-05-01

Prisons are contexts where nurses are required to have specific skills to ensure that, in a setting designed for the expiation of crime, prisoners receive the same type of care as anyone else. But this is not always the case, giving rise to ethical issues. 'How do correctional nurses describe their working experience in prisons? What issues emerged?' This is a qualitative descriptive study. Following purposive sampling, we conducted five focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Participants and research context: Our sample included 31 correctional nurses in seven prisons in Northern Italy. Ethical considerations: The scientific merit of this study was recognized by the Academic Board of the University of Genoa. Approval to conduct the study was obtained from the Liguria Regional Government that funded this study and from the Local Health Authority that was the prison nurses' employer. Formal consent was obtained from all the nurses who volunteered to participate in this study. Five themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) prisoners' healthcare needs, (2) negotiation between custody and care, (3) satisfaction of working in prisons, (4) obstacles to quality care and (5) safety. 'Manipulation' was a transversal theme that emerged from all the focus groups. The problems generated by the clash between prison security and nursing care priorities did not enable nurses to practice autonomously and provide the best possible to care prisoners, giving rise to ethical issues and moral distress. This in turn causes high nursing turnover rates that negatively impact continuum of care. In Italy, correctional nurses urgently require specific education interventions with the participation of all those who work in prisons. Interventions based on the post-modern concept of restorative nursing could offer prison nurses the opportunity to both resolve ethical issues and reduce moral distress.

Participatory communication for tuberculosis control in prisons in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

PubMed

Waisbord, Silvio

2010-03-01

To assess the challenges in reducing tuberculosis (TB) in prisons in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay and propose ways to address them through communication interventions. Challenges to two central goals of TB control--early diagnosis of positive cases and successful application of the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) strategy--were examined. Data were gathered (through in-depth, structured interviews) and focus groups were conducted in the prisons that housed the largest number of male inmates in each country. Interviewees and focus group participants included program directors, administrative personnel, correctional health and security staff, and incarcerated people who were or had been under treatment for TB and had participated as 'peers' in health services. The findings showed a range of entrenched obstacles for adequate TB control. Stigmatizing attitudes and low knowledge about TB among inmates and key prison personnel discouraged people living in prisons from seeking diagnosis and treatment. Systemic problems in prison health services, along with squalid living conditions, lack of coordination between national TB programs and prison health systems, and insufficient allocation of resources to health prevented the provision of adequate TB prevention and care. In addressing the barriers to effective TB control in prison systems in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay, a participatory approach to communication is necessary.

Attributional style and depressive symptoms in a male prison sample.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Danny J; O'Sullivan, Maura E; O'Connell, Brendan D; O'Reilly, Ken; Sarma, Kiran M

2018-01-01

The reformulated learned helplessness model proposes that people who tend to make internal, stable, and global attributions in response to uncontrollable aversive events are more likely to develop depression. The present study sought to investigate the nature of the relationship between attributional style and depression in a male prison sample. One hundred and one adult male prisoners from four medium security prisons in Ireland completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and measures of depression (BDI-II) and anxiety (BAI). Severity of self-reported depressive symptoms in the present sample was comparable to other prison and clinical samples, but higher than community samples. Participants were more severely affected by depressive symptoms than anxiety. The original attributional dimensions (i.e. internal, stable, and global) predicted a significant amount of variance in depression, but the model was not significant after controlling for anxiety. A subsequent regression model, comprising attributional dimensions for both negative events and positive events including a measure of 'uncontrollability', accounted for 35% of the variance in depression and the model retained significance while controlling for anxiety. An attributional model of depression may be relevant to the prison population and could provide a valid insight into the development and treatment of depressive symptoms in prisoners. The findings are interpreted in relation to previous research and implications for theory, clinical practice, and rehabilitation are discussed.

Attributional style and depressive symptoms in a male prison sample

PubMed Central

O’Sullivan, Danny J.; O’Sullivan, Maura E.; O’Connell, Brendan D.; O’Reilly, Ken; Sarma, Kiran M.

2018-01-01

The reformulated learned helplessness model proposes that people who tend to make internal, stable, and global attributions in response to uncontrollable aversive events are more likely to develop depression. The present study sought to investigate the nature of the relationship between attributional style and depression in a male prison sample. One hundred and one adult male prisoners from four medium security prisons in Ireland completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and measures of depression (BDI-II) and anxiety (BAI). Severity of self-reported depressive symptoms in the present sample was comparable to other prison and clinical samples, but higher than community samples. Participants were more severely affected by depressive symptoms than anxiety. The original attributional dimensions (i.e. internal, stable, and global) predicted a significant amount of variance in depression, but the model was not significant after controlling for anxiety. A subsequent regression model, comprising attributional dimensions for both negative events and positive events including a measure of ‘uncontrollability’, accounted for 35% of the variance in depression and the model retained significance while controlling for anxiety. An attributional model of depression may be relevant to the prison population and could provide a valid insight into the development and treatment of depressive symptoms in prisoners. The findings are interpreted in relation to previous research and implications for theory, clinical practice, and rehabilitation are discussed. PMID:29444084

Is gender a factor in perceived prison officer competence? Male prisoners' perceptions in an English dispersal prison.

PubMed

Boyd, Elizabeth; Grant, Tim

2005-01-01

The introduction of women officers into HM Prison Service raised questions regarding women's ability to perform what had traditionally been a male role. Existing research is inconclusive as to whether female prison officers are as competent as male prison officers, and whether there are gender differences in job performance. This study examined prisoners' perceptions of male and female prison officers' performance. The hypotheses were that overall competence and professionalism ratings would not differ for men and women officers, but that there would be differences in how men and women were perceived to perform their roles. Women were expected to be rated as more communicative, more empathic and less disciplining. The Prison Officer Competency Rating Scale (PORS) was designed for this study. Ratings on the PORS for male and female officers were given by 57 adult male prisoners. There was no significant difference in prisoners' ratings of overall competence of men and women officers. Of the PORS subscales, there were no gender differences in Discipline and Control, Communication or Empathy, but there was a significant difference in Professionalism, where prisoners rated women as more professional. The failure to find any differences between men and women in overall job competence, or on communication, empathy and discipline, as perceived by prisoners, suggests that men and women may be performing their jobs similarly in many respects. Women were rated as more professional, and items contributing to this scale related to respecting privacy and keeping calm in difficult situations, where there may be inherent gender biases.

Teaching Composition in Prisons: Methods and Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mowery, Carl D., Jr.

A pilot study gathered information on materials and methods used by writing instructors teaching in prisons in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri via a questionnaire. The classes taught by the respondents were all at the college level, were sponsored by various universities and colleges, and all but two were taught at maximum security…

Psychiatry in prisons.

PubMed

Goldstein, N

1983-12-01

In the midst of the critical struggle over the failures of rehabilitation and the impotency of the prison system, the role of the psychiatrist in the prison has become increasingly unclear. This article presents a persuasive argument for working in prisons and discusses ethical considerations, treatment approaches, and the special problems and challenges provided by prison psychiatry.

Creating Decent Prisons: A Serendipitous Finding about Prison Hospice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Kevin N.; Bronstein, Laura

2007-01-01

Limited research has been conducted on the creation or impact of "decent" prisons, institutions where prisoners are treated with care and respect. This study set out to explore organizational factors associated with locating hospice programs into prison settings. Yet, the research produced unexpected findings about the contribution of hospice to…

AIDS in Mexican prisons.

PubMed

Olivero, J M; Roberts, J B

1995-01-01

The human rights organization Americas Watch, which toured Mexican prisons, reported in 1991 that all prisoners with HIV infection in the Mexico City area were housed in a single AIDS ward in Santa Marta Prison. In 1991, the 16-bed facility had 15 patients; in 1993, this number had increased by 5. In Mexico City, with 3 prisons holding over 2000 male adults each, there were only 20 known infected prisoners in the AIDS ward at Santa Marta. In 1991, authorities at Matamoros, in the state of Tamaulipas, insisted that none of their inmates had ever been diagnosed as infected with HIV. The prison physician at Reynosa indicated that only 2 inmates since 1985 had ever been diagnosed as infected. In 1992, the prison in Saltillo, in the state of Coahuila, reported that here had yet to be a single positive test for HIV. The prison at Reynosa held 1500 people and only 2 inmates were diagnosed as having AIDS between 1985 and 1991. Prisons at Matamoros and Saltillo held similar numbers but had no experience of infected inmates. A survey of 2 prisons in the state of Tamaulipas indicates that around 12% of the population may use IV drugs, and 9% indicate sharing needles. It is possible for prisoners to die of diseases like pneumonia, associated with AIDS, without the connection to AIDS being diagnosed. Each state, and possibly each prison in Mexico, has its own particular AIDS policies. Santa Marta was the single facility in Mexico City used to house AIDS-infected prisoners, who were segregated. Finally, the prison at Saltillo required all women entering the facility to have a medical examination, including a test for HIV. High-level prison personnel have demonstrated ignorance and fear of AIDS and intolerance of infected prisoners. Mexico must reassess the need to provide adequate medical care to offenders who are sick and dying behind bars.

The impact of prison staff responses on self-harming behaviours: prisoners' perspectives.

PubMed

Marzano, Lisa; Ciclitira, Karen; Adler, Joanna

2012-03-01

To further understanding of how health and correctional staff responses to self-harming behaviours influence prisoners and their subsequent actions. Participant-centred, qualitative methods were used to explore the complex and under-researched perspectives of self-harming male prisoners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 adult male prisoners who had engaged in repetitive, non-suicidal self-harm during their current prison sentence, or considered doing so. The interviews were analyzed drawing on principles of thematic analysis and discourse analysis. With some exceptions, prison officers, nurses, and doctors are portrayed by prisoners as being ill-prepared to deal with repetitive self-harm, often displaying actively hostile attitudes and behaviours. These findings underscore the need for appropriate training, support and supervision for staff working with self-harming prisoners. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

[Health situation of prisoners at a prison compliance centre, Chile].

PubMed

Osses-Paredes, C; Riquelme-Pereira, N

2013-02-01

There are population groups nowadays that are regarded as vulnerable, one of which is the prison population, considered to have major health needs. Nonetheless, people deprived of liberty maintain inherent human rights such as that of health care, which in some situations may take second place. Cross-sectional descriptive study, carried out at El Manzano Prison compliance centre, Concepción, from October 2011 to February 2012 with the implementation of a preventive health exam and a socio-demographic and health questionnaire, for 18+, female and male prisoners in a closed system, on reception of written informed consent. in the study, the population was 85% men, the average age was 34 years, 91.2% receive visits, average term of imprisonment 38 months. At least 45% have a diagnosed disease, prioritizing mental disorders, and respiratory and circulatory system diseases. 56% of prisoners have requested health care infrequently, 33% of which were very satisfied and 32% satisfied with prison health services. The health of the prison population is more impaired than that of the general population, with a larger number of needs that are also different, but there is a positive perception of health by prisoners and a high degree of satisfaction with health services.

75 FR 26733 - Preventing Contraband Cell Phone Use in Prisons

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-12

... alternative approach could be to specify maximum allowable equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP... technical approaches to preventing contraband cell phone use in prisons. Congress tasked NTIA with..., wireless technology solutions. NTIA understands that a number of technological approaches exist that could...

The Cultural Construction of Mental Illness in Prison: A Perfect Storm of Pathology

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Large numbers of individuals in U.S. prisons meet DSM criteria for severe psychiatric disorder. These individuals also have co-occurring personality and substance abuse disorders, medical conditions, and histories of exposure to social pathologies. Based on nine months of ethnographic fieldwork in a U.S. prison, focusing on staff narratives, I utilize interpretivist and constructivist perspectives to analyze how mental health clinicians construct psychiatric disorder among inmates. Discrete categorization of disorders may be confounded by the clinical co-morbidities of inmates and the prison context. Incarcerated individuals’ responses to the institutional context substantially inform mental health staffs’ illness construction and the prison itself is identified as an etiological agent for disordered behaviors. In addition, diagnostic processes are found to be indeterminate, contested, and shaped by interactions with staff. Analysis of illness construction reveals that what is at stake for clinicians is not only provision of appropriate treatment, but also mandates for the safety and security of the institution. Enmeshed in these mandates, prison mental health becomes a particular local form of psychiatric knowledge. This paper contributes to anthropological approaches to mental disorder by demonstrating how local contexts mediate psychiatric knowledge and contribute to the limited ethnographic record of prisons. PMID:23212545

Condoms for prisoners: no evidence that they increase sex in prison, but they increase safe sex

PubMed Central

Butler, Tony; Richters, Juliet; Yap, Lorraine; Donovan, Basil

2013-01-01

Objectives To determine if the provision of condoms to prisoners in two Australian state prison systems with different policies affects sexual behaviour. In New South Wales’ (NSW) prisons, condoms are freely distributed, while in Queensland prisons none are distributed. Methods We used a computer-assisted telephone interview to survey randomly selected prisoners in both states about their sexual behaviour in prison. Results Two thousand and eighteen male prisoners participated. The proportion of prisoners reporting anal sex in prison was equally low in NSW (3.3%) and Queensland (3.6%; p=0.8). A much higher proportion of prisoners who engaged in anal sex in NSW (56.8%) than Queensland (3.1%; p<0.0001) reported they had used a condom if they had had anal sex in prison. Sexual coercion was equally rare in both prison systems. Conclusions We found no evidence that condom provision to prisoners increased consensual or non-consensual sexual activity in prison. If available, condoms were much more likely to be used during anal sex. Condoms should be made available to prisoners as a basic human right. PMID:23300337

Expert perspectives on Western European prison health services: do ageing prisoners receive equivalent care?

PubMed

Bretschneider, Wiebke; Elger, Bernice Simone

2014-09-01

Health care in prison and particularly the health care of older prisoners are increasingly important topics due to the growth of the ageing prisoner population. The aim of this paper is to gain insight into the approaches used in the provision of equivalent health care to ageing prisoners and to confront the intuitive definition of equivalent care and the practical and ethical challenges that have been experienced by individuals working in this field. Forty interviews took place with experts working in the prison setting from three Western European countries to discover their views on prison health care. Experts indicated that the provision of equivalent care in prison is difficult mostly due to four factors: variability of care in different prisons, gatekeeper systems, lack of personnel, and delays in providing access. This lack of equivalence can be fixed by allocating adequate budgets and developing standards for health care in prison.

Hospital security: strengthening the weakest link--forensic patients.

PubMed

Lashley, Joel

2008-01-01

In this article, reprinted with permission from CorrectionsOne.com, the online resource for the Corrections community, the author focuses on the responsibility of the hospital, its security department, and its healthcare staff when a forensic prisoner is brought in for treatment. Hospitals are responsible for all of their patients, he says, and as such, have every right to ask how much of a danger a given patient presents to their facility, and whether they should insist on a higher level of security. To avoid the tragic occurrences which have all to often taken place when forensic prisoners try to escape, hospitals should require their own security department to liaison with all agencies that maintain custody of patients inside their facility in order to assess any related security risks--and offer appropriate support. Even unarmed healthcare security personnel need to receive training in weapons retention and control, and all healthcare staff should be versed in tactical awareness.

Psychiatric morbidity in prisoners

PubMed Central

Kumar, Vinod; Daria, Usha

2013-01-01

Background: Prisoners are having high percentage of psychiatric disorders. Majority of studies done so far on prisoners are from Western countries and very limited studies from India. Aim: Study socio-demographic profile of prisoners of a central jail and to find out current prevalence of psychiatric disorders in them. Materials and Methods: 118 prisoners were selected by random sampling and interviewed to obtain socio-demographic data and assessed on Indian Psychiatric Interview Schedule (IPIS) with additional required questions to diagnose psychiatric disorders in prisoners. Results: Mean age of prisoners was 33.7 years with 97.5% males, 57.6% from rural areas and 65.3% were married. Average education in studied years was 6.6 years and 50.8% were unskilled workers. 47.4% were murderers while 20.3% of drugs related crimes. 47.5% were convicted and history of criminal behavior in family was in 32.2% prisoners. Current prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 33%. Psychotic, depressive, and anxiety disorders were seen in 6.7%, 16.1%, and 8.5% prisoners respectively. 58.8% had history of drug abuse/dependence prior to imprisonment. Conclusion: One prison of Hadoti region of Rajasthan is full of people with mental-health problems who collectively generate significant levels of unmet psychiatric treatment need. Prisons are detrimental to mental-health. Beginning of reforms is the immediate need. PMID:24459308

[Suicidal behaviour among prisoners: prevalence and association with psychological distress in Flemish prisons].

PubMed

Favril, L; Vander Laenen, F; Audenaert, K

Internationally, the prevalence of suicidal behaviour (suicidal ideation, suicide plan and attempted suicide) is significantly elevated among prisoners compared to the community at large. To estimate the prevalence of suicidal behaviour among prisoners in the Flanders region of Belgium, to identify differences according to gender and custodial status, and to examine the association of recent suicidal ideation and suicide plan with psychological distress. We performed a cross-sectional survey using a representative sample of 1,326 prisoners, randomly selected from 15 Flemish prisons. During their lifetime, an estimated 44.4% of prisoners in Flanders reported suicidal ideation, 30.2% made a suicide plan, and one-fifth (21.8%) attempted suicide at least once. Past-year suicidal ideation in prison was endorsed by one-fourth (24.9%) of all prisoners, and 14.3% made a recent suicidal plan during their current incarceration. Approximately one in ten prisoners (9.5%) attempted suicide while in prison. Recent suicidal ideation and suicide plan were significantly associated with high levels of psychological distress. Generally, female prisoners reported significant higher levels of suicidal behaviour than men, while differences according to custodial status were less unequivocal. Corroborating international research findings, high rates of suicidal behaviour were identified among prisoners in Flanders, compared to the general population. Not only is suicidal behaviour a significant risk factor for suicide, it is also important in its own right as an indicator of profound psychological distress. Suicidal behaviour should therefore be an important target for prevention and intervention in this at-risk population.

Exploring motivations to stop injecting in English prisons: qualitative research with former male prisoners.

PubMed

Tompkins, Charlotte N E

2013-01-01

This paper aims to explore the cessation of injecting amongst male drug users when in prison in England and uncovers what influenced this behaviour and why. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 male drug users on release from prison to explore what happened to their injecting drug use in prison. The research was conducted from a pragmatic harm reduction approach using grounded theory. Not injecting in prison was identified as a pertinent finding and nine overarching themes accounted for this decline. The themes often overlapped with one another, highlighting how the decision not to inject when last in prison was multi-factorial. Running throughout the themes were participants' concerns regarding the health and social risks attributed to injecting in prison, alongside an appreciation of some of the rehabilitative measures and opportunities offered to injecting drug users when in prison. This qualitative research offers an updated perspective on illicit drug injecting in prison in England from the view of drug users since health and prison policy changes in prescribing and practice. It contributes to evidence suggesting that prisons can be used as a time of reprieve and recovery from injecting drug use.

28 CFR 501.2 - National security cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false National security cases. 501.2 Section 501.2 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.2 National security cases. (a) Upon direction of the Attorney General, the...

28 CFR 501.2 - National security cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false National security cases. 501.2 Section 501.2 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.2 National security cases. (a) Upon direction of the Attorney General, the...

28 CFR 501.2 - National security cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false National security cases. 501.2 Section 501.2 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.2 National security cases. (a) Upon direction of the Attorney General, the...

28 CFR 501.2 - National security cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false National security cases. 501.2 Section 501.2 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.2 National security cases. (a) Upon direction of the Attorney General, the...

28 CFR 501.2 - National security cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National security cases. 501.2 Section 501.2 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.2 National security cases. (a) Upon direction of the Attorney General, the...

An overview of the prison population and the general health status of prisoners.

PubMed

Heidari, E; Dickinson, C; Dickson, C; Newton, T

2014-07-11

This article is the first in a series of four, which explore the oral and dental health of male prisoners in the United Kingdom. The series comprises: an overview of the general and oral health status of male prisoners, a discussion on how multi-disciplinary team working can be used to benefit the care of patients in prison environments and a description of the future planning of dental services for male prisoners. The oral health of prisoners is linked to their general health status, due in part to the presence of common risk factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol and in some cases use of recreational drugs, poor dietary and poor oral hygiene habits. Barriers to healthcare services can all have an effect on oral disease in this group. This paper highlights some of the common medical problems that oral healthcare providers face when treating prisoners in male UK prison establishments.

Prison Boomers: Policy Implications of Aging Prison Populations

PubMed Central

Psick, Zachary; Ahalt, Cyrus; Brown, Rebecca T.; Simon, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Prison populations worldwide are aging at an unprecedented rate, and associated age-related medical costs have had serious consequences for jurisdictions struggling to respond to the changes. Our examination of the situation in California shows that recognizing the changing healthcare needs of aging prison populations is critical to achieving effective and efficient policies and practices that affect this medically vulnerable and costly population. Chronic prison overcrowding usually accompanies the aging trends, and there is evidence that aging is strongly correlated with desistance from criminal behavior, suggesting an opportunity to at least partially address the challenges through early release of appropriate persons. Some relevant policies do exist, but they have not achieved this goal on a sufficient scale. Drawing lessons from California and available scholarship, we conclude with recommendations for those faced with responding to the unprecedented number of older adults now in prison, most of whom will eventually be released. PMID:28299972

A randomized controlled trial of prison-initiated buprenorphine: prison outcomes and community treatment entry.

PubMed

Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Schwartz, Robert P; Fitzgerald, Terrence T; O'Grady, Kevin E; Vocci, Frank J

2014-09-01

Buprenorphine is a promising treatment for heroin addiction. However, little is known regarding its provision to pre-release prisoners with heroin dependence histories who were not opioid-tolerant, the relative effectiveness of the post-release setting in which it is provided, and gender differences in treatment outcome in this population. This is the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated buprenorphine provided to male and female inmates in the US who were previously heroin-dependent prior to incarceration. A total of 211 participants with 3-9 months remaining in prison were randomized to one of four conditions formed by crossing In-Prison Treatment Condition (received buprenorphine vs. counseling only) and Post-release Service Setting (at an opioid treatment center vs. a community health center). Outcome measures were: entered prison treatment; completed prison treatment; and entered community treatment 10 days post-release. There was a significant main effect (p=.006) for entering prison treatment favoring the In-Prison buprenorphine Treatment Condition (99.0% vs. 80.4%). Regarding completing prison treatment, the only significant effect was Gender, with women significantly (p<.001) more likely to complete than men (85.7% vs. 52.7%). There was a significant main effect (p=.012) for community treatment entry, favoring the In-Prison buprenorphine Treatment Condition (47.5% vs. 33.7%). Buprenorphine appears feasible and acceptable to prisoners who were not opioid-tolerant and can facilitate community treatment entry. However, concerns remain with in-prison treatment termination due to attempted diversion of medication. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Prison-Initiated Buprenorphine: Prison Outcomes and Community Treatment Entry

PubMed Central

Gordon, Michael S.; Kinlock, Timothy W.; Schwartz, Robert P.; Fitzgerald, Terrence; O’Grady, Kevin E.; Vocci, Frank J.

2014-01-01

Background Buprenorphine is a promising treatment for heroin addiction. However, little is known regarding its provision to pre-release prisoners with heroin dependence histories who were not opioid-tolerant, the relative effectiveness of the post-release setting in which it is provided, and gender differences in treatment outcome in this population. Methods This is the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated buprenorphine provided to male and female inmates in the US who were previously heroin-dependent prior to incarceration. A total of 211 participants with 3–9 months remaining in prison were randomized to one of four conditions formed by crossing In-Prison Treatment Condition (received buprenorphine vs. counseling only) and Post-release Service Setting (at an opioid treatment center vs. a community health center). Outcome measures were: entered prison treatment; completed prison treatment; and entered community treatment 10 days post-release. Results There was a significant main effect (p=.006) for entering prison treatment favoring the In-Prison buprenorphine Treatment Condition (99.0% vs. 80.4%). Regarding completing prison treatment, the only significant effect was Gender, with women significantly (p<.001) more likely to complete than men (85.7% vs. 52.7%). There was a significant main effect (p=.012) for community treatment entry, favoring the In-Prison buprenorphine Treatment Condition (47.5% vs. 33.7%). Conclusions Buprenorphine appears feasible and acceptable to prisoners who were not opioid-tolerant and can facilitate community treatment entry. However, concerns remain with in-prison treatment termination due to attempted diversion of medication. PMID:24962326

Radical Pedagogy, Prison, and Film

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Dierdre

2015-01-01

This article explores the work of The Inside Film project. Inside Film works with a specific group of people (prisoners and ex-prisoners) in a particular set of circumstances (in prison or on parole) exploring how film making can be used within prison education or with people who have been to prison as a means of fostering a critical engagement…

Self-harm and overcrowding among prisoners in Geneva, Switzerland.

PubMed

Wolff, Hans; Casillas, Alejandra; Perneger, Thomas; Heller, Patrick; Golay, Diane; Mouton, Elisabeth; Bodenmann, Patrick; Getaz, Laurent

2016-01-01

, pertinent data (socio-demographics and number of prisoners treated for mental health and drug abuse) remained stable over the years. Thus, there are no apparent changes in the inmate population that could be linked to an increase in self-harm. High-security placements and mean prisoner stay have increased over time, with a decrease in staff to prisoner ratio - and these must be looked into further as contributors. Additionally, qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews and focus groups could delineate the impact of overcrowding on prisoner well-being and self-harm potential. The authors observed a significant increase in self-harm and self-strangulation/hangings over time, and overcrowding was significantly associated with self-strangulation/hangings (but not with all self-harm events). Overcrowding can impose destructive effects on the psychological and behavioral well being of inmates in prison, influencing a myriad of emotional and livelihood factors that predispose to harmful behavior. This report should alert public health and prison authorities to this issue, and garner resources to address such an alarming rise. The findings from this short report demonstrate the need for a further examination of the mechanisms affecting self-harm among prisoners in this population, particularly the relationship between self-strangulations/hangings and overcrowding.

Smoking-Related Behaviors and Effectiveness of Smoking Cessation Therapy Among Prisoners and Prison Staff.

PubMed

Turan, Onur; Turan, Pakize Ayse

2016-04-01

Smoking is a serious problem in prisons. This work aimed to assess smoking-related behaviors and the effectiveness of tobacco cessation therapy in prison. This study includes four visits to a prison in Bolvadin-Afyon, Turkey. Pharmacologic options for tobacco cessation were offered to the participants who wanted to quit smoking. One hundred seventy-nine subjects (109 prisoners and 70 prison staff) with 68.7% current smokers were included. There was an increase of cigarette smoking in 41.8% (the most common reason was stress) and decrease in 18.7% (the most common reason was health problems) of the participants after incarceration. Fifty-nine participants accepted the offered tobacco cessation treatment. Only 2 participants started their planned medications, but they could not quit smoking. The most common reason for failed attempts to quit was the high prices of cessation therapies. Factors like stress and being in prison may provoke smoking. A smoking ban does not seem to be a total solution for preventing tobacco use in prisons. Tobacco cessation programs may be a better option. Cost-free cessation medications may increase quitting rates among prisoners and prison staff. Copyright © 2016 by Daedalus Enterprises.

HIV counselling in prisons.

PubMed

Curran, L; McHugh, M; Nooney, K

1989-01-01

HIV presents particular problem in penal establishments: the nature of the population; conditions in prison; media attention and misinformation; the possibility of transmission within and beyond the prison population; the extra issues that apply to female prisoners. These are discussed in the context of prison policy regarding HIV and the broad strategic approach which is being adopted to manage the problem of HIV within penal institutions. Counselling has a key role in the overall strategy. Pre- and post-test counselling with prisoners is described and the particular problems presented by inmates are discussed and illustrated by reference to case histories. Developments in counselling provision for inmates are outlined.

[Hospital pharmaceutical practice in prison].

PubMed

Harcouët, L

2010-09-01

Since 1994, hospital pharmaceutical teams have been in charge of pharmaceutical tasks in "unités de consultation et de soins ambulatoires" (UCSA), which are hospital consulting care units in French prisons. In 2008, pharmaceutical team in Parisian prisons received 6500 prescriptions and prepared 85,000 nominative bags containing drugs. Prisoners were 1.3% to receive treatments against HIV, 8.2% cardiovascular drugs, 7.2% opioid substitution treatments, and 52.9% psychoactive drugs, including 39.3% hypnotics, 40.5% anxiolytics, 11.3% antidepressants and 12.2% neuroleptics. In prison, the dichotomy between somatic and mental care is marked, attitudes of prisoners about their medicines are complex (important claims, embezzlement, etc.) and it is difficult for law defendants to maintain treatment confidentiality and to prepare prison outing in terms of health. To attenuate the heterogeneity of drug distribution systems in French prisons, we propose pharmaceutical analysis of prescriptions and nominative dispensation, computerization in UCSA in coordination with hospitals, a better contribution of prison medical and pharmaceutical staff in hospital "drug committees" and the redaction of pharmaceutical guidelines. Acting in concert with multidisciplinary medical staff in UCSA, pharmaceutical teams have to develop epidemiological studies to improve knowledge in prisoner's health and also prevention and health care in prison. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

AIDS in prisons.

PubMed

Winsbury, R

1999-01-01

This article highlights the prevalence of HIV inside prisons in Senegal, Africa. There is a general presumption that HIV rates are higher in prisons than in the surrounding population. Organizations have conducted an inquiry on the statistics of HIV infection among prisoners and results revealed that there are existing projects done outside Western Europe and the US. It was observed that prison conditions in Africa do not meet the international norms nor the standards of human rights organizations in their treatment of detainees. One problem that had risen during the Dakar conference was the inaccessibility of condoms among detainees. Furthermore, despite the customs and morale of Zimbabwe regarding same sex activities, there are still reported cases of sodomy without the use of condom. The question presented in this article focuses on the so-called rights of prisoners in practicing safe sex through use of condoms and provision of medical treatment among those infected.

Prison Education Diaries. A Collection of Poems, Essays and Extracts from Daily Journals by Prisoners, in Their Own Words, about Their Learning Experiences whilst in Prison.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. of Adult Continuing Education, Leicester (England).

This collection of 35 poems, essays, and extracts from daily journals offers insight into the thoughts and experiences of prison education and prison life from the prisoner's perspective. The contributions come from men and women prisoners and young offenders from various ethnic backgrounds from 14 prisons; they demonstrate just how much can be…

Administrators’ Perspectives on Changing Practice in End-of-Life Care in a State Prison System

PubMed Central

Penrod, Janice; Loeb, Susan J.; Smith, Carol A.

2013-01-01

Objective Sentencing trends have created a demographic shift in prison populations. Greater numbers of inmates are aging and dying in prison, creating a demand for enhanced end-of-life care. Changing practice to meet escalating care demands in corrections settings is complicated by economic constraints, attitudinal barriers, and organizational features. This study explored perspectives of end-of-life care held by administrators in a state prison system to reveal challenges to changing practice to meet the needs of inmates suffering advanced illness and dying in prison. Design and Sample Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 administrators from the central office of a state department of corrections. Results Key influences impacting end-of-life care services included: local prison culture; treatment versus security focus; case-by-case consideration; public sentiment; budget neutral approaches; and conflicting views of service targets. Conclusions These findings revealed the organizational structures, attitudes, and beliefs held by the administrative echelon of a state prison system and were used to guide the derivation of discrete approaches to changing practice in this complex system. Contextual evaluation permitted a much deeper understanding of the influences on changing practice in this hierarchical bureaucracy. This type of preliminary evaluation is crucial to infusing new practice initiatives in complex organizations caring for stigmatized, at-risk populations. PMID:24588128

Cognitive function is associated with prison behaviour among women in prison but not with subjective perception of adjustment to prison.

PubMed

Rocha, Nuno B F; Fonseca, Duarte A; Marques, Alina B; Rocha, Susana A; Hoaken, Peter N S

2015-12-01

There is considerable evidence that aspects of cognitive function, especially executive function, are associated with antisocial behaviour and violence, but most research to date has measured current cognition and previous criminal behaviour. Furthermore, this research has been conducted almost exclusively with male offenders. The aim of this study is to examine relationships between a wide range of cognitive functions and behaviours among women in prison. Our hypotheses were that cognitive functioning would be associated with both more-or-less contemporaneously observed behaviour problems and self-rated adjustment to the environment. Forty-five drug-free imprisoned female offenders were individually assessed on a battery of cognitive measures. Prison staff rated their behaviour on the Prison Behaviour Rating Scale and the women rated their own sense of adjustment to the environment on the Prison Adjustment Questionnaire. Stepwise hierarchical regressions indicated that attention was independently associated with behaviours reflecting tension, depression, isolation, fear, victimisation and worry, whereas processing speed was independently associated with behaviours reflecting lack of energy, mental slowness and lack of awareness of the surrounding environment and total Prison Adjustment Questionnaire score. There was no relationship between cognitive functioning and subjective perception of adjustment to prison. Results indicate that cognition contributes to some of the behavioural problems displayed by inmates in the prison context. Future studies should evaluate the role of programmes to improve cognitive processes in also improving prison behaviour and also test for continuities and discontinuities with post-release integrative success. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Where "Old Heads" Prevail: Inmate Hierarchy in a Men's Prison Unit.

PubMed

Kreager, Derek A; Young, Jacob T N; Haynie, Dana L; Bouchard, Martin; Schaefer, David R; Zajac, Gary

2017-01-01

Research of inmate social order is a once-vibrant area that receded just as American incarceration rates climbed and the country's carceral contexts dramatically changed. This study reengages inmate society with an abductive mixed methods investigation of informal status within a contemporary men's prison unit. The authors collect narrative and social network data from 133 male inmates housed in a unit of a Pennsylvania medium-security prison. Analyses of inmate narratives suggest that unit "old heads" provide collective goods in the form of mentoring and role modeling that foster a positive and stable peer environment. This hypothesis is then tested with Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) of peer nomination data. The ERGM results complement the qualitative analysis and suggest that older inmates and those who have been on the unit longer are perceived by their peers as powerful and influential. Both analytical strategies point to the maturity of aging and the acquisition of local knowledge as important for attaining informal status in the unit. In sum, this mixed methods case study extends theoretical insights of classic prison ethnographies, adds quantifiable results capable of future replication, and points to a growing population of older inmates as important for contemporary prison social organization.

[Psychotropic drugs in prison].

PubMed

Fovet, Thomas; Amad, Ali; Adins, Catherine; Thomas, Pierre

2014-05-01

Respect for guidelines and recommendations is the rule for prescribing psychotropic drugs in prison. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders and suicide in prison is higher than in general population. In France, 50 % of prisoners are treated with a psychotropic medication. Insomnia is a common complaint. It should not be trivialized and clinical psychiatric examination should be complete particularly in search of an underlying depressive syndrome. The lifestyle and dietary rules should not be neglected despite the difficulties associated with living conditions in prison and expectations of immediate results from both patients and sometimes the prison administration or justice. Given the prevalence of addictions in the prison population, vigilance is required in preventing withdrawal, especially at the beginning of incarceration. Indications for initiation and the prescription of opioid substitution treatment are the same as free environment. Individualization of delivery and confidentiality must be applied. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Educated Prisoners Are Less Likely to Return to Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vacca, James S.

2004-01-01

Since 1990, the literature has shown that prisoners who attend educational programs while they are incarcerated are less likely to return to prison following their release. Studies in several states have indicated that recidivism rates have declined where inmates have received an appropriate education. Furthermore, the right kind of educational…

Female Prisoners in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teh, Yik Koon

2006-01-01

This is a study on 422 female prisoners in peninsular Malaysia. More than half of the female prisoners are foreigners, mainly from Indonesia and Thailand. This study surveys the background of the respondents and identifies factors that may have influenced them to commit the offences. Female prisoners in Malaysia, particularly those who are…

Surveillance of tuberculosis in Malawian prisons

PubMed Central

Banda, R. P.; Gausi, F.; Salaniponi, F. M.; Harries, A. D.; Mpunga, J.; Banda, H. M.; Munthali, C.; Ndindi, H.

2012-01-01

Setting: The Malawi National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) has collaborated with the Prison Health Services (PHS) on tuberculosis (TB) control in prisons since 1996. Information on case finding and treatment outcomes is routinely collected, but there has not been any recent countrywide review of these prison data. Objectives: To determine 1) the number of prisoners registered for TB in 2007, 2) TB treatment outcomes in 2006 and 3) training of prison health care staff in all Malawian prisons. Design: Descriptive study involving a review of 2006 and 2007 data collected by the NTP during surveillance in 2008. Results: In 2007, 278 TB patients were registered in Malawian prisons, representing a TB case notification rate of 835 per 100 000 (higher than that in the general population, at 346/100 000). The treatment success rate for new smear-positive TB cases for 2006 was 73%, lower than the national average of 78%. In all, 52 prison health care staff had received 1 week of training in TB management, usually just after starting work in the prison. Conclusions: TB case notifications in Malawian prisons were higher than in the general population and treatment outcomes less favourable. The NTP and PHS need better collaboration to improve TB control in Malawian prisons. PMID:26392938

Prison rights: mandatory drugs tests and performance indicators for prisons.

PubMed Central

Gore, S. M.; Bird, A. G.; Ross, A. J.

1996-01-01

Mandatory drugs testing of prisoners applies throughout England and Wales. Data from the 1995 pilot study in eight prisons show that the proportion testing positive for opiates or benzodiazepines rose from 4.1% to 7.4% between the first and second phase of random testing and that there was a 20% increase over 1993-4 in the provisional total of assaults for 1995. Interpretation of these data is difficult, but this is no excuse for prevarication over the danger that this policy may induce inmates to switch from cannabis (which has a negligible public health risk) to injectable class A drugs (a serious public health risk) in prison. The performance indicators for misuse of drugs that are based on the random mandatory drugs testing programme lack relevant covariate information about the individuals tested and are not reliable or timely for individual prisons. PMID:8646103

HIV and incarceration: prisons and detention

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The high prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners and pre-trial detainees, combined with overcrowding and sub-standard living conditions sometimes amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of international law, make prisons and other detention centres a high risk environment for the transmission of HIV. Ultimately, this contributes to HIV epidemics in the communities to which prisoners return upon their release. We reviewed the evidence regarding HIV prevalence, risk behaviours and transmission in prisons. We also reviewed evidence of the effectiveness of interventions and approaches to reduce the risk behaviours and, consequently, HIV transmission in prisons. A large number of studies report high levels of risk behaviour in prisons, and HIV transmission has been documented. There is a large body of evidence from countries around the world of what prison systems can do to prevent HIV transmission. In particular, condom distribution programmes, accompanied by measures to prevent the occurrence of rape and other forms of non-consensual sex, needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapies, have proven effective at reducing HIV risk behaviours in a wide range of prison environments without resulting in negative consequences for the health of prison staff or prisoners. The introduction of these programmes in prisons is therefore warranted as part of comprehensive programmes to address HIV in prisons, including HIV education, voluntary HIV testing and counselling, and provision of antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive prisoners. In addition, however, action to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions in detention is urgently needed. PMID:21595957

HIV and incarceration: prisons and detention.

PubMed

Jürgens, Ralf; Nowak, Manfred; Day, Marcus

2011-05-19

The high prevalence of HIV infection among prisoners and pre-trial detainees, combined with overcrowding and sub-standard living conditions sometimes amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of international law, make prisons and other detention centres a high risk environment for the transmission of HIV. Ultimately, this contributes to HIV epidemics in the communities to which prisoners return upon their release. We reviewed the evidence regarding HIV prevalence, risk behaviours and transmission in prisons. We also reviewed evidence of the effectiveness of interventions and approaches to reduce the risk behaviours and, consequently, HIV transmission in prisons. A large number of studies report high levels of risk behaviour in prisons, and HIV transmission has been documented. There is a large body of evidence from countries around the world of what prison systems can do to prevent HIV transmission. In particular, condom distribution programmes, accompanied by measures to prevent the occurrence of rape and other forms of non-consensual sex, needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapies, have proven effective at reducing HIV risk behaviours in a wide range of prison environments without resulting in negative consequences for the health of prison staff or prisoners.The introduction of these programmes in prisons is therefore warranted as part of comprehensive programmes to address HIV in prisons, including HIV education, voluntary HIV testing and counselling, and provision of antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive prisoners. In addition, however, action to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions in detention is urgently needed.

Violence in Prisons, Revisited

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toch, Hans; Kupers, Terry A.

2007-01-01

A close review of prison violence makes it obvious that a disproportionate amount of such violence is related to the mental health problems of prisoners, and that, in the U.S. at least, this appears to have become increasingly the case. One reason for the trend is that prison administrators have been routinely relegating disturbed disruptive…

Analysis to determine the maximum dimensions of flexible apertures in sensored security netting products.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murton, Mark; Bouchier, Francis A.; vanDongen, Dale T.

2013-08-01

Although technological advances provide new capabilities to increase the robustness of security systems, they also potentially introduce new vulnerabilities. New capability sometimes requires new performance requirements. This paper outlines an approach to establishing a key performance requirement for an emerging intrusion detection sensor: the sensored net. Throughout the security industry, the commonly adopted standard for maximum opening size through barriers is a requirement based on square inchestypically 96 square inches. Unlike standard rigid opening, the dimensions of a flexible aperture are not fixed, but variable and conformable. It is demonstrably simple for a human intruder to move through a 96-square-inchmore » opening that is conformable to the human body. The longstanding 96-square-inch requirement itself, though firmly embedded in policy and best practice, lacks a documented empirical basis. This analysis concluded that the traditional 96-square-inch standard for openings is insufficient for flexible openings that are conformable to the human body. Instead, a circumference standard is recommended for these newer types of sensored barriers. The recommended maximum circumference for a flexible opening should be no more than 26 inches, as measured on the inside of the netting material.« less

Under the surface: the dynamic interpersonal and affective world of psychopathic high-security and detention prisoners.

PubMed

Gullhaugen, Aina Sundt; Nøttestad, Jim Aage

2012-09-01

The present study yields an in-depth examination of the interpersonal and affective world of high-security and detention prisoners with possible (Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version [PCL:SV] ≥ 13) and strong (PCL:SV ≥ 18) indications of psychopathy. A group of male inmates (n = 16) was compared with noncriminal and non-personality disordered controls (n = 35) on measures of self and other (Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form [YSQ-SF], Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex Scales [IIP-C]), and the experience and regulation of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule [PANAS], Emotion Control Questionnaire 2 [ECQ2]). Results confirm the established grandiose, dominant, and callous characteristics of the psychopath (PCL:SV, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders [SCID-II], DSM-IV and ICD-10 Personality Questionnaire [DIP-Q], IIP-C), while demonstrating personal distress and important nuances and variations in psychopathic offenders' interpersonal and affective functioning (YSQ-SF, PANAS, ECQ2, SCID-II, DIP-Q). These preliminary findings support, expand, and challenge the ordinary portrayal of the psychopath and, if replicated in larger samples, point to a need for an expansion or reformulation of the concept, measurement, and treatment of psychopathy.

Housing for the "Worst of the Worst" Inmates: Public Support for Supermax Prisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mears, Daniel P.; Mancini, Christina; Beaver, Kevin M.; Gertz, Marc

2013-01-01

Despite concerns whether supermaximum security prisons violate human rights or prove effective, these facilities have proliferated in America over the past 25 years. This punishment--aimed at the "worst of the worst" inmates and involving 23-hr-per-day single-cell confinement with few privileges or services--has emerged despite little…

Transparent Walls: Library Services to Prisoners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemp, Susan J.; Montgomery, Jack G., Ed.

1996-01-01

The population of state and federal prisons quadrupled between 1971 and 1991, increasing demand for library resources. Outlines the history of prison libraries (1700s-1990s); discusses prison libraries and librarians, law collections, reference services, literacy programs, and funding; and provides a bibliography of prison librarianship covering…

Prisons, jobs and privatization: The impact of prisons on employment growth in rural US counties, 1997-2004.

PubMed

Genter, Shaun; Hooks, Gregory; Mosher, Clayton

2013-05-01

In this study of prison privatization we draw on the insights of a recent body of literature that challenges a widespread belief that prisons help to spur employment growth in local communities. We look to these studies to provide an empirically and theoretically grounded approach to addressing our research question: what are the benefits, if any, to employment growth in states that have privatized some of their prisons, compared to states with only public prisons? Our research makes use of a large, national, and comprehensive dataset. By examining the employment contributions of prisons, as recent research has done, we were able to corroborate the general findings of this research. To study prison privatization we distinguish between states in which privatization has grown rapidly and those states in which privatization has grown slowly (or not at all). Our findings lend support to recent research that finds prisons do not improve job prospects for those communities that host them. We contribute to this literature by demonstrating that new prisons in states in which privatization is surging impede employment growth in the host community. To explain this we highlight the significant reduction in prison staffing - in both private and public prisons - where privatization is growing quickly. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Methadone Maintenance for Prisoners: Prediction of Treatment Entry and Completion in Prison

PubMed Central

GORDON, MICHAEL S.; KINLOCK, TIMOTHY W.; COUVILLION, KATHRYN A.; SCHWARTZ, ROBERT P.; O’GRADY, KEVIN

2014-01-01

The present report is an intent-to-treat analysis involving secondary data drawn from the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated methadone in the United States. This study examined predictors of treatment entry and completion in prison. A sample of 211 adult male prerelease inmates with preincarceration heroin dependence were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: counseling only (counseling in prison; n= 70); counseling plus transfer (counseling in prison with transfer to methadone maintenance treatment upon release; n= 70); and counseling plus methadone (methadone maintenance in prison, continued in a community-based methadone maintenance program upon release; n= 71). Entered prison treatment (p <. 01), and completed prison treatment (p< .001) were significantly predicted by the set of 10 explanatory variables and favored the treatment conditions receiving methadone. The present results indicate that individuals who are older in age and have longer prison sentences may have better outcomes than younger individuals with shorter sentences, meaning they are more likely to enter and complete prison-based treatment. Furthermore, implications for the treatment of prisoners with prior heroin dependence and for conducting clinical trials may indicate the importance of examining individual characteristics and the possibility of the examination of patient preference. PMID:25392605

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Methadone Maintenance for Prisoners: Prediction of Treatment Entry and Completion in Prison.

PubMed

Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Couvillion, Kathryn A; Schwartz, Robert P; O'Grady, Kevin

2012-05-01

The present report is an intent-to-treat analysis involving secondary data drawn from the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated methadone in the United States. This study examined predictors of treatment entry and completion in prison. A sample of 211 adult male prerelease inmates with preincarceration heroin dependence were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: counseling only (counseling in prison; n= 70); counseling plus transfer (counseling in prison with transfer to methadone maintenance treatment upon release; n= 70); and counseling plus methadone (methadone maintenance in prison, continued in a community-based methadone maintenance program upon release; n= 71). Entered prison treatment (p <. 01), and completed prison treatment (p< .001) were significantly predicted by the set of 10 explanatory variables and favored the treatment conditions receiving methadone. The present results indicate that individuals who are older in age and have longer prison sentences may have better outcomes than younger individuals with shorter sentences, meaning they are more likely to enter and complete prison-based treatment. Furthermore, implications for the treatment of prisoners with prior heroin dependence and for conducting clinical trials may indicate the importance of examining individual characteristics and the possibility of the examination of patient preference.

Prison health care: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Watson, Roger; Stimpson, Anne; Hostick, Tony

2004-02-01

The prison population is increasing and the health problems of prisoners are considerable. Prison is designed with punishment, correction and rehabilitation to the community in mind and these goals may conflict with the aims of health care. A literature review showed that the main issues in prison health care are mental health, substance abuse and communicable diseases. Women prisoners and older prisoners have needs which are distinct from other prisoners. Health promotion and the health of the community outside prisons are desirable aims of prison health care. The delivery of effective health care to prisoners is dependent upon partnership between health and prison services and telemedicine is one possible mode of delivery.

Within-prison drug injection among HIV-infected male prisoners in Indonesia: a highly constrained choice.

PubMed

Culbert, Gabriel J; Waluyo, Agung; Iriyanti, Mariska; Muchransyah, Azalia P; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L

2015-04-01

In Indonesia, incarceration of people who inject drugs (PWID) and access to drugs in prison potentiate within-prison drug injection (WP-DI), a preventable and extremely high-risk behavior that may contribute substantially to HIV transmission in prison and communities to which prisoners are released. This mixed method study examined the prevalence, correlates, and social context of WP-DI among HIV-infected male prisoners in Indonesia. 102 randomly selected HIV-infected male prisoners completed semi-structured voice-recorded interviews about drug use changes after arrest, drug use cues within prison, and impact of WP-DI on HIV and addiction treatment. Logistic regression identified multivariate correlates of WP-DI and thematic analysis of interview transcripts used grounded-theory. Over half (56%) of participants reported previous WP-DI. Of those, 93% shared injection equipment in prison, and 78.6% estimated sharing needles with ≥ 10 other prisoners. Multivariate analyses independently correlated WP-DI with being incarcerated for drug offenses (AOR = 3.29, 95%CI = 1.30-8.31, p = 0.011) and daily drug injection before arrest (AOR = 5.23, 95%CI = 1.42-19.25, p = 0.013). Drug availability and proximity to drug users while incarcerated were associated with frequent drug craving and escalating drug use risk behaviors after arrest. Energetic heroin marketing and stigmatizing attitudes toward methadone contribute to WP-DI and impede addiction and HIV treatment. Frequent WP-DI and needle sharing among these HIV-infected Indonesian prison inmates indicate the need for structural interventions that reduce overcrowding, drug supply, and needle sharing, and improve detection and treatment of substance use disorders upon incarceration to minimize WP-DI and associated harm. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Within-Prison Drug Injection among HIV-infected Male Prisoners in Indonesia: A Highly Constrained Choice

PubMed Central

Culbert, Gabriel J.; Waluyo, Agung; Iriyanti, Mariska; Muchransyah, Azalia P.; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L.

2016-01-01

Background In Indonesia, incarceration of people who inject drugs (PWID) and access to drugs in prison potentiate within-prison drug injection (WP-DI), a preventable and extremely high-risk behavior that may contribute substantially to HIV transmission in prison and communities to which prisoners are released. Aims This mixed method study examined the prevalence, correlates, and social context of WP-DI among HIV-infected male prisoners in Indonesia. Methods 102 randomly selected HIV-infected male prisoners completed semi-structured voice-recorded interviews about drug use changes after arrest, drug use cues within prison, and impact of WP-DI on HIV and addiction treatment. Logistic regression identified multivariate correlates of WP-DI and thematic analysis of interview transcripts used grounded-theory. Results Over half (56%) of participants reported previous WP-DI. Of those, 93% shared injection equipment in prison, and 78.6% estimated sharing needles with ≥10 other prisoners. Multivariate analyses independently correlated WP-DI with being incarcerated for drug offenses (AOR=3.29, 95%CI=1.30–8.31, p=0.011) and daily drug injection before arrest (AOR=5.23, 95%CI=1.42–19.25, p=0.013). Drug availability and proximity to drug users while incarcerated were associated with frequent drug craving and escalating drug use risk behaviors after arrest. Energetic heroin marketing and stigmatizing attitudes toward methadone contribute to WP-DI and impede addiction and HIV treatment. Conclusions Frequent WP-DI and needle sharing among these HIV-infected Indonesian prison inmates indicate the need for structural interventions that reduce overcrowding, drug supply, and needle sharing, and improve detection and treatment of substance use disorders upon incarceration to minimize WP-DI and associated harm. PMID:25659895

Prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis among prisoners in North Gondar Zone Prison, northwest Ethiopia.

PubMed

Moges, Beyene; Amare, Bemnet; Asfaw, Fanaye; Tesfaye, Wogahta; Tiruneh, Moges; Belyhun, Yeshambel; Mulu, Andargachew; Kassu, Afework

2012-12-15

People concentrated in congregated systems, such as prisons, are important but often neglected reservoirs for TB transmission, and threaten those in the outside community. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis in a prison system of North Gondar Zone. An active case-finding survey in North Gondar Prison was carried out from March to May 2011. All prison inmates who had history of cough for at least a week were included in the study. Three morning sputum samples were collected from suspected inmates and examined through fluorescence microscopy. Fine needle aspiration cytology was done for those having significant lymphadenopathy. Pre and post HIV test counseling was provided after written consent. Binary logistic and multivariable analysis was performed using SPSS version 16. A total of 250 prisoners were included in the survey. Among these, 26 (10.4%) prisoners were found to have TB giving a point prevalence of 1482.3 per 100,000 populations of smear positive TB among the TB suspects. All the inmates who participated in the study volunteered for HIV testing and a total of 19(7.6%) inmates were found to be reactive for the HIV antibody test amongst of which 9(47.4%) had TB co-infection. The prevalence of HIV infection in the TB infected inmates was found to be 34.6% (9/26). From the 26 TB cases identified 12 (46.2%) were having under nutrition (BMI < 18.5kg/m(2)). There is high prevalence of TB in North Gondar Prison with possible active transmission of TB within the prison. There was a high prevalence of HIV among the TB suspects. Strong cooperation between prison authorities and the national tuberculosis control programmes is urgently required to develop locally appropriate interventions to reduce transmission. The determinants for poor nutrition in the prison need also further investigation.

Health needs of prisoners in England and Wales: the implications for prison healthcare of gender, age and ethnicity.

PubMed

Harris, Francesca; Hek, Gill; Condon, Louise

2007-01-01

This paper aims to provide evidence of the healthcare needs of prisoners in relation to gender, age and ethnicity, drawing from a larger systematic overview of the policy and research literature concerning primary care nursing in prisons in England and Wales. The literature overview shaped the initial stages of a research project funded by the Department of Health to examine the views and perspectives of prisoners and nurses working in prisons, and to identify good primary care nursing in the prison environment. At total of 17 databases were searched using search terms related to primary healthcare in prisons (health, nurs*, primary care, healthcare, family medicine, prison*, offender*, inmate*) with terms truncated where possible in the different databases. Following this, a sifting phase was employed using inclusion/exclusion criteria to narrow and focus the literature perceived as relevant to the research questions. All papers were critically appraised for quality using standardised tools. Findings from the literature overview show that prisoners are more likely to have suffered some form of social exclusion compared to the rest of society, and there are significantly greater degrees of mental health problems, substance abuse and worse physical health in prisoners than in the general population. Women, young offenders, older prisoners and those from minority ethnic groups have distinct health needs compared to the prison population taken as a whole, with implications for the delivery of prison healthcare, and how these needs are met effectively and appropriately.

Prevention of Suicidal Behavior in Prisons

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Abstract. Background: Worldwide, prisoners are at high risk of suicide. Research on near-lethal suicide attempts can provide important insights into risk and protective factors, and inform suicide prevention initiatives in prison. Aims: To synthesize findings of research on near-lethal attempts in prisons, and consider their implications for suicide prevention policies and practice, in the context of other research in custody and other settings. Method: We searched two bibliographic indexes for studies in any language on near-lethal and severe self-harm in prisoners, supplemented by targeted searches over the period 2000–2014. We extracted information on risk factors descriptively. Data were not meta-analyzed owing to heterogeneity of samples and methods. Results: We identified eight studies reporting associations between prisoner near-lethal attempts and specific factors. The latter included historical, prison-related, and clinical factors, including psychiatric morbidity and comorbidity, trauma, social isolation, and bullying. These factors were also identified as important in prisoners' own accounts of what may have contributed to their attempts (presented in four studies). Conclusion: Factors associated with prisoners' severe suicide attempts include a range of potentially modifiable clinical, psychosocial, and environmental factors. We make recommendations to address these factors in order to improve detection, management, and prevention of suicide risk in prisoners. PMID:27278569

[Tobacco reduction in a prison of France].

PubMed

Harcouët, L; Balanger, S; Meunier, N; Mourgues, A; Grabar, S; Haouili, B; Guillevin, L

2008-05-01

Little is known about free nicotine transdermal patch efficacy on tobacco reduction in prisoners. The objective is to study this efficacy in prison as well as motivations to reduce and influence of socioeconomic conditions and other addictions in prisoners' aspiration to stop smoking. A prospective study was proposed to prisoners candidate to tobacco cessation. Assessment was made by questionnaires and visits to physicians working at the prison. Nicotinic patches were systematically proposed to patients with a starting 15 mg/16 h dose (or 10 mg/16 h if the dependence was low), followed by a 10 and 5 mg/16 h dose reduction. Prisoners motivated to smoking cessation (N=73) generally had multiaddictive behaviours and precarious socioeconomic profile. Thirty percent of prisoners self-reported a reduction of 50% of their cigarettes consumption until they left prison. Median duration of this successful treatment was 45 days. Median duration of treatment response for patients who relapsed in prison (15 %) was 75 days. No predictive factor of success was found. Tobacco reduction is possible in prison even if living conditions are not favourable.

Primary medical care in Irish prisons

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background An industrial dispute between prison doctors and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) took place in 2004. Part of the resolution of that dispute was that an independent review of prison medical and support services be carried out by a University Department of Primary Care. The review took place in 2008 and we report here on the principal findings of that review. Methods This study utilised a mixed methods approach. An independent expert medical evaluator (one of the authors, DT) inspected the medical facilities, equipment and relevant custodial areas in eleven of the fourteen prisons within the IPS. Semistructured interviews took place with personnel who had operational responsibility for delivery of prison medical care. Prison doctors completed a questionnaire to elicit issues such as allocation of clinician's time, nurse and administrative support and resources available. Results There was wide variation in the standard of medical facilities and infrastructure provided across the IPS. The range of medical equipment available was generally below that of the equivalent general practice scheme in the community. There is inequality within the system with regard to the ratio of doctor-contracted time relative to the size of the prison population. There is limited administrative support, with the majority of prisons not having a medical secretary. There are few psychiatric or counselling sessions available. Conclusions People in prison have a wide range of medical care needs and there is evidence to suggest that these needs are being met inconsistently in Irish prisons. PMID:20307311

Primary medical care in Irish prisons.

PubMed

Barry, Joe M; Darker, Catherine D; Thomas, David E; Allwright, Shane P A; O'Dowd, Tom

2010-03-22

An industrial dispute between prison doctors and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) took place in 2004. Part of the resolution of that dispute was that an independent review of prison medical and support services be carried out by a University Department of Primary Care. The review took place in 2008 and we report here on the principal findings of that review. This study utilised a mixed methods approach. An independent expert medical evaluator (one of the authors, DT) inspected the medical facilities, equipment and relevant custodial areas in eleven of the fourteen prisons within the IPS. Semistructured interviews took place with personnel who had operational responsibility for delivery of prison medical care. Prison doctors completed a questionnaire to elicit issues such as allocation of clinician's time, nurse and administrative support and resources available. There was wide variation in the standard of medical facilities and infrastructure provided across the IPS. The range of medical equipment available was generally below that of the equivalent general practice scheme in the community. There is inequality within the system with regard to the ratio of doctor-contracted time relative to the size of the prison population. There is limited administrative support, with the majority of prisons not having a medical secretary. There are few psychiatric or counselling sessions available. People in prison have a wide range of medical care needs and there is evidence to suggest that these needs are being met inconsistently in Irish prisons.

Where “Old Heads” Prevail: Inmate Hierarchy in a Men’s Prison Unit*

PubMed Central

Kreager, Derek A.; Young, Jacob T.N.; Haynie, Dana L.; Bouchard, Martin; Schaefer, David R.; Zajac, Gary

2017-01-01

Research of inmate social order is a once-vibrant area that receded just as American incarceration rates climbed and the country’s carceral contexts dramatically changed. This study reengages inmate society with an abductive mixed methods investigation of informal status within a contemporary men’s prison unit. The authors collect narrative and social network data from 133 male inmates housed in a unit of a Pennsylvania medium-security prison. Analyses of inmate narratives suggest that unit “old heads” provide collective goods in the form of mentoring and role modeling that foster a positive and stable peer environment. This hypothesis is then tested with Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) of peer nomination data. The ERGM results complement the qualitative analysis and suggest that older inmates and those who have been on the unit longer are perceived by their peers as powerful and influential. Both analytical strategies point to the maturity of aging and the acquisition of local knowledge as important for attaining informal status in the unit. In sum, this mixed methods case study extends theoretical insights of classic prison ethnographies, adds quantifiable results capable of future replication, and points to a growing population of older inmates as important for contemporary prison social organization. PMID:29540904

Reforming Prison Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coyle, William J.

1989-01-01

Discusses the current widespread acceptance of the public library model for prison libraries, in which preferences of the inmates are the chief consideration in programing and collection development. It is argued that this model results in recreational programs and collections that fail to fulfill the prison library's role in education and…

Against risk-benefit review of prisoner research.

PubMed

Chwang, Eric

2010-01-01

The 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, 'Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Prisoners', recommended five main changes to current US Common Rule regulations on prisoner research. Their third recommendation was to shift from a category-based to a risk-benefit approach to research review, similar to current guidelines on pediatric research. However, prisoners are not children, so risk-benefit constraints on prisoner research must be justified in a different way from those on pediatric research. In this paper I argue that additional risk-benefit constraints on prisoner research are unnecessary: the current Common Rule regulations, omitting category-based restrictions but conjoined with the IOM report's other four main recommendations, ensure that prisoner research is as ethical as non-prisoner research is. I explain why four problems which which may be more prevalent in prisons and which risk-benefit constraints may seem to address - coercion, undue inducements, exploitation, and protection from harm - are in fact not solved by adding further risk-benefit constraints on prisoner research.

Learning Locked down: Evaluating the Treatment of Students' Rights in High Security School Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bracy, Nicole L.

2009-01-01

Public schools have transformed significantly over the past several decades in response to broad concerns about rising school violence. Today's public schools are high security environments employing tactics commonly found in jails and prisons such as police officers, security cameras, identification systems, and secure building strategies.…

A qualitative synthesis of the positive and negative impacts related to delivery of peer-based health interventions in prison settings.

PubMed

South, Jane; Woodall, James; Kinsella, Karina; Bagnall, Anne-Marie

2016-09-29

Peer interventions involving prisoners in delivering peer education and peer support in a prison setting can address health need and add capacity for health services operating in this setting. This paper reports on a qualitative synthesis conducted as part of a systematic review of prison-based peer interventions. One of the review questions aimed to investigate the positive and negative impacts of delivering peer interventions within prison settings. This covered organisational and process issues relating to peer interventions, including prisoner and staff views. A qualitative synthesis of qualitative and mixed method studies was undertaken. The overall study design comprised a systematic review involving searching, study selection, data extraction and validity assessment. Studies reporting interventions with prisoners or ex-prisoners delivering education or support to prisoners resident in any type of prison or young offender institution, all ages, male and female, were included. A thematic synthesis was undertaken with a subset of studies reporting qualitative data (n = 33). This involved free coding of text reporting qualitative findings to develop a set of codes, which were then grouped into thematic categories and mapped back to the review question. Themes on process issues and wider impacts were grouped into four thematic categories: peer recruitment training and support; organisational support; prisoner relationships; prison life. There was consistent qualitative evidence on the need for organisational support within the prison to ensure smooth implementation and on managing security risks when prisoners were involved in service delivery. A suite of factors affecting the delivery of peer interventions and the wider organisation of prison life were identified. Alongside reported benefits of peer delivery, some reasons for non-utilisation of services by other prisoners were found. There was weak qualitative evidence on wider impacts on the prison system

Psychotherapy and despair in the prison setting.

PubMed

Gee, Joanna; Loewenthal, Del; Cayne, Julia

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to outline research which aimed to explore psychotherapists' experience of working with despair, in the UK prison setting, through a qualitative phenomenological approach. Within the forensic psychological literature, despair is considered a pathology, associated with suicide and self-harm, resulting from the prisoners histories and the coercive prison setting. In turn, therapeutic writings outline the importance of therapy in the prison setting with despair in providing coping skills, containment and learning opportunities for the prisoners involved. Within the study, ten psychotherapists were interviewed as to their experience of working with clients in despair in the prison setting. The data were analysed via the phenomenological research method Empirical Phenomenological Analysis (EPA), and a secondary analysis through reverie. Through the analysis by EPA, despair emerged in the prison setting as a destabilising phenomenon to which there was no protocol for working with it. Participants also described the prisoners' despair and the despairing prison setting, touching on their own sense of vulnerability and despair. However, drawing on the secondary analysis by reverie, the researcher also became aware of how the phenomenon of despair emerged not simply through the said, but also through the intersubjective. It was therefore through the secondary analysis by reverie that the importance of the attendance to aspects of intersubjectivity in prison research emerged. This paper contributes to the therapeutic writings on despair in the prison setting, alongside holding implications for qualitative research in the prison setting.

Concerns About Lung Cancer Among Prisoners.

PubMed

Renault, Luc; Perrot, Emmanuel; Pradat, Eric; Bartoli, Christophe; Greillier, Laurent; Remacle-Bonnet, Anne; Telmon, Norbert; Mazières, Julien; Molinier, Laurent; Couraud, Sébastien

2018-02-01

Few studies have looked at lung cancer in prisoners, despite this population is possibly at increased risk of malignancy. In a previous study, we found an early onset of lung cancer in prisoners. Thus, the present CARCAN study was aimed at assessing the epidemiological characteristics, management, prognosis, and incidence of lung cancer in prisoners compared to a sample of non-prisoner patients. We performed a multi-center observational case-control study. Cases were prisoners diagnosed with lung cancer from 2005 to 2013. Controls were non-prisoner lung cancer patients selected from hospital databases and randomly matched to cases (targeted case-control ratio: 1:3). Incidence rates in both groups were calculated using national statistics. Seventy-two cases and 170 controls met inclusion criteria. Cases were mainly men (99%). Mean age at diagnosis was 52.9 (± 11.0) in cases and 64.3 (± 10.1) in controls (p < 0.0001). More case patients were current smokers compared to control patients (83% vs 53%; p < 0.0001). We found no significant differences between the two groups as concerns histologic types, TNM stages at diagnosis, initially-employed treatments, times to management or survival. Incidence rates (2008-2012) in male prisoners were higher than those in the general population in all concerned age groups. There is a shift of lung cancer toward young people in prisons. However, the presentation, management, and prognosis of lung cancer are similar between prisoners and non-prisoners. These finding could justify a specific screening policy for the incarcerated populations.

[Guidelines for substitution treatments in prison populations].

PubMed

Michel, L; Maguet, O

2005-01-01

Care access for the drug addict patients in prison (in particular for the treatments of substitution) in France is very unequal from one establishment to another. This reflects the great variability of the practices of substitution and especially the absence of consensus on the methods of adaptation of these practices to the prison environment. Because of difficulties expressed by prisoners and medical staff on this subject and of stakes (let us recall that approximately 30% of the prisoners are dependent or abusers of one or more psychoactive substances), the formulation of recommendations or of a good practices guide of substitution in prison appeared necessary. Work that we detail here answers a ordering of the Advisory Commission of the Treatments of Substitution (September 2001) whose authors are members. It was presented at the session April 2003. It results from the confrontation of a review of the literature (including legal texts and official reports concerning substitution, the organization of the care in prison environment and the lawful framework), with a vast investigation. The latter was carried out near medical staff (22 prisons), penitentiary staff (3 prisons, 27 people met including directors of these establishments) and prisoners (7 establishments, 28 prisoners met) in the form of individual talks (semi-directing interviews with evaluation of the type of existing device and its knowledge by the penitentiary staff and the prisoners; statement of the suggestions, needs and requests of the medical, penitentiary staffs and of the prisoners). In the whole visited prisons, 7.8% (870) of the prisoners received substitution treatments (6.35% by buprenorphine, 1.44% by methadone), representing a proportion of substituted drug addicts (870 substituted for an evaluation of 3,350 prisoners drug addicts among the 11,168 prisoners of the 22 visited prisons) notably lower than that in free environment (56%, ie 96,000 substituted for an evaluated population of

Users' views of prison health services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Condon, Louise; Hek, Gill; Harris, Francesca; Powell, Jane; Kemple, Terry; Price, Sally

2007-05-01

This paper is a report of a study of the views of prisoners about health services provided in prisons. Prison provides an opportunity for a 'hard to reach' group to access health services, primarily those provided by nurses. Prisoners typically have high health and social needs, but the views and experiences of prisoners about health services in prison have not been widely researched. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 111 prisoners in purposively selected 12 prisons in England in 2005. Interviews covered both prisoners' views of health services and their own ways of caring for their health in prison. Interviews were analysed to develop a conceptual framework and identify dominant themes. Prisoners considered health services part of a personal prison journey, which began at imprisonment and ended on release. For those who did not access health services outside prison, imprisonment improved access to both mental and physical health services. Prisoners identified accessing services, including those provided by nurses, confidentiality, being seen as a 'legitimate' patient and living with a chronic condition as problems within the prison healthcare system. At all points along the prison healthcare journey, the prison regime could conflict with optimal health care. Lack of autonomy is a major obstacle to ensuring that prisoners' health needs are fully met. Their views should be considered when planning, organizing and delivering prison health services. Further research is needed to examine how nurses can ensure a smooth journey through health care for prisoners.

Self-perceived role and function of Christian prison chaplains and Buddhist volunteers in Hong Kong prisons.

PubMed

Chui, Wing Hong; Cheng, Kevin Kwok-yin

2013-02-01

Although there have been a handful of studies examining the work of chaplains and prison volunteers in a Western setting, few have endeavored to conduct research into the experiences of religious workers in Asian penitentiaries. To fill this gap, this article reports on exploratory research examining the work of a selected group of religious workers in Hong Kong prisons. A total of 17 religious workers were interviewed: 10 prison chaplains and 7 Buddhist volunteers who paid regular prison visits. Qualitative findings generated from in-depth interviews present three themes: the range of religious activities performed, the importance of religion for the rehabilitation of inmates, and the hope of continued religious support to prisoners after discharge. The significance of this research is that it sheds light on the understudied work of prison chaplains and volunteers in Hong Kong and portrays the difference between the works of the Christian ministry and Buddhist volunteers.

Attitude to rehabilitative counselling in southwestern Nigerian prisons.

PubMed

A Alao, Kayode; F Adebowale, Olusegun

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to examine the attitudes of prison inmates and warders (prison staff) to rehabilitative counselling and its relationship to their prison status on one hand and their educational attainment on the other. The study adopts a descriptive survey research design. In all 123 prison inmates and 110 warders were selected by stratified random sampling from Osogbo prison headquarters, as well as Ilesa and Ile-Ife prisons in southwestern Nigeria. Data were collected through a self-constructed questionnaire titled "inmate and prison staff attitude to rehabilitation counselling". Data collected were analysed using percentages and χ2 statistics. The results showed that the prison inmates and staff possessed positive attitude to rehabilitative counselling. No significant difference was found between the attitudes of prison inmates and staff members or on the basis of their prison statuses. However, the study found a significant relationship between the prison inmates' attitude to rehabilitative counselling and their educational attainment. Research LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Statutory provision needs be made for professional rehabilitative counselling in Nigerian prisons in contrast to the religious instructions currently being allowed prisoners. Educational opportunities should be provided to ensure that the knowledge so obtained complements the rehabilitative counselling. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an identified need to study the attitude towards rehabilitative counselling.

The Special Needs Program for Inmate-Patients with Dementia (SNPID): a psychosocial program provided in the prison system.

PubMed

Hodel, Bettina; Sánchez, Heriberto G

2013-09-01

This article discusses a comprehensive psychosocial program developed for a prison in California--the Special Needs Program for Inmate-Patients with Dementia (SNPID). It describes the individual steps of the program, their content and their application in a system that has safety and security as its highest priority. An important and innovatory aspect of SNIPD is the role of other inmates in supporting inmates with dementia. The article concludes that psychosocial interventions can be appropriately applied in prison settings and make a difference in the quality of life for inmate-patients with dementia.

Limited access to HIV prevention in French prisons (ANRS PRI2DE): implications for public health and drug policy

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Overpopulation, poor hygiene and disease prevention conditions in prisons are major structural determinants of increased infectious risk within prison settings but evidence-based national and WHO guidelines provide clear indications on how to reduce this risk. We sought to estimate the level of infectious risk by measuring how French prisons adhere to national and WHO guidelines. Methods A nationwide survey targeting the heads of medical (all French prisons) and psychiatric (26 French prisons) units was conducted using a postal questionnaire and a phone interview mainly focusing on access to prevention interventions, i.e. bleach, opioid substitution treatment (OST), HBV vaccination and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for French prisoners. Two scores were built reflecting adherence to national and WHO international guidelines, ranging from 0 (no adherence) to 10 (maximum adherence) and 0 to 9 respectively. Results A majority (N = 113 (66%)) of the 171 prisons answered the questionnaires, representing 74% coverage (46,786 prisoners) of the French prison population: 108 were medical units and 12 were psychiatric units. Inmate access to prevention was poor. The median[IQR] score measuring adherence to national guidelines was quite low (4.5[2.5; 5.5]) but adherence to WHO guidelines was even lower 2.5[1.5; 3.5]; PEP was absent despite reported risky practices. Unsuitable OST delivery practices were frequently observed. Conclusions A wide gap exists between HIV prevention policies and their application in prisons. Similar assessments in other countries may be needed to guide a global policy reform in prison settings. Adequate funding together with innovative interventions able to remove structural and ideological barriers to HIV prevention are now needed to motivate those in charge of prison health, to improve their working environment and to relieve French prisoners from their currently debilitating conditions. PMID:21619573

"Up yours": smuggling illicit drugs into prison.

PubMed

George, Sanju; Clayton, Steve; Namboodiri, Vasudevan; Boulay, Sylvie

2009-01-01

A significant proportion of patients who are heroin-dependant and receiving treatment in the community serve prison sentences at some point in their lives, meaning their treatment continues "on the inside". Although prison inmates are promised the same quality of care as they would get "on the outside", this is not always the case. Some drawbacks of the drug treatments offered in prisons can lead to people smuggling drugs into prisons. The present work describes how a patient, who is heroin dependant and attending a community drug and alcohol team for methadone maintenance treatment, smuggled methadone and heroin into prison, his reasons for doing that, his personal description of the extent of drug use in prisons and finally what can be done to stop it from treatment and policy perspectives. Drug misuse is common in prisons. Much more can be done at treatment and policy levels to prevent people smuggling drugs into prison.

Prison, a missing target to address issues related to drug detoxification and rehabilitation: Nepalese experiences.

PubMed

Kant Jha, Chandra; M Donovan, Dennis

2013-01-01

Drug use has numerous consequences on health, the economy, culture and the peace and security of families and communities. Drug users often engage in various criminal activities, including drug dealing, to sustain their drug use. Under Nepalese law, consumption, possession and sale of drugs are illegal, which increases the risk of incarceration for drug users. Using a phenomenological/qualitative approach, the paper explores how various activities can lead to the arrest of drug users, how they cope without taking drugs in custody and prison and how they plan abstinence after release. Participants engaged in various categories of criminal activity, including stealing, looting, etc. Most of the drug users were in custody and prison at least once. Drug use relapses led the participants to re-engage in criminal activities including drug dealing. Parents were often overburdened by their sons and daughter's drug use and were worried about their repeated relapses. Finally, some parents negotiated with their sons and daughters to keep them in prison where they would be able to stay without taking drugs and their involvement in crimes and conflicts would decrease. Keeping substance abusers in prison does not appear to be an effective strategy, as many participants relapse after release from prison. However, a prison-based educational and health promotion strategy would be beneficial for drug users to develop knowledge and skills on staying drug-free. However, to date, no effort has been made to provide such services to drug users and develop their coping strategy after release.

The National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity among prisoners and the future of prison healthcare.

PubMed

Coid, Jeremy; Bebbington, Paul; Jenkins, Rachel; Brugha, Traolach; Lewis, Glyn; Farrell, Michael; Singleton, Nicola

2002-07-01

It has long been known that psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent among prisoners (Coid, 1984; Gunn et al., 1991; Maden et al., 1995; Joukamaa, 1995; Bland et al., 1998; Lamb and Weinberger, 1998). However, the Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity Among Prisoners in England and Wales (Singleton et al., 1998) represents a considerable advance on earlier surveys. By using the same standardized psychiatric assessment procedures, and similar questions on medication, service use and social functioning, its findings can be compared with previous national surveys of adults living in private households (Meltzer et al., 1995), residents in institutions (Meltzer et al., 1996), homeless persons (Gill et al., 1996), and with the forthcoming household survey in England, Wales and Scotland. It should also inform the future organisation of healthcare for prisoners, following recent recommendations from a joint Home Office/Department of Health Working Party that Health Authorities must work with prisons in their catchment areas to carry out joint health needs assessments, agree prison healthcare improvement strategies and jointly plan and commission services (HM Prison Service and NHS Executive 1999). The ultimate test of the survey will be whether it provides a benchmark to evaluate the future effectiveness of the new policy changes.

Democracy in Prison and Prison Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eggleston, Carolyn; Gehring, Thom

2000-01-01

Reviews the use of democratic models in the history of prison education. Identifies central principles of successful models: strong leadership, mediated learning experiences, high aims and expectations, and increased relative freedom. (SK)

Why do not more prisoners participate in adult education? An analysis of barriers to education in Norwegian prisons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manger, Terje; Eikeland, Ole Johan; Asbjørnsen, Arve

2018-06-01

From a lifelong learning perspective, education during incarceration is crucial for prisoners' rehabilitation. This article describes the authors' development of their Perceived Barriers to Prison Education Scale (PBPES) and examines what deters prisoners from participating in education during their incarceration, how their perceptions differ depending on gender, age, educational level, learning difficulties, length of prison sentence, and whether the prisoners express a desire to participate in education or not. Within a larger survey conducted in all Norwegian prisons among all prisoners with Norwegian citizenship, the authors focused on those who did not participate in education (n = 838). To reveal the underlying constructs that comprise perceived barriers, they hypothesised a three-factor model to which they applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The analysis confirmed the model, which comprised institutional barriers (e.g. insufficient practical arrangements; lack of access to computers and to the Internet), situational barriers (e.g. education is not considered to be of help in the current situation) and dispositional barriers (e.g. having difficulties in mathematics, reading, writing and concentrating), with good fit to the data. The authors used mixed-model analyses of variance to examine differences between subgroups of prisoners. Gender, age, educational level, learning difficulties and length of prison sentence were found to influence perceived barriers. The authors also observed that prisoners who wished to participate in education were more likely than others to perceive institutional barriers and less likely to perceive situational barriers.

Prisons and Sentencing Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galvin, Jim

1983-01-01

Reviews current themes in sentencing and prison policy. The eight articles of this special issue discuss selective incapacitation, prison bed allocation models, computer-scored classification systems, race and gender relations, commutation, parole, and a historical review of sentencing reform. (JAC)

Social Support and Anger Expression among Incarcerated Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loper, Ann Booker; Gildea, Jennifer Whitney

2004-01-01

Incarcerated women at a maximum security state facility (N= 216) completed a questionnaire concerning their perceived social support within the prison, structured activities, and perceived support from prison surrogate families. A series of regression analyses evaluated the relationship between social support measures and anger, as measured by the…

Locked out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boulard, Garry

2010-01-01

As a collaborative program bringing the instructional resources of Wesleyan University to the maximum security Cheshire Correctional Institute in Connecticut enters its second semester, prison and higher education experts are seeing decreasing support for similar programs across the U.S. According to some experts, state funding on prison education…

"They Treat Us Like Human Beings"--Experiencing a Therapeutic Sex Offenders Prison: Impact on Prisoners and Staff and Implications for Treatment.

PubMed

Blagden, Nicholas; Winder, Belinda; Hames, Charlie

2016-03-01

Research evidence demonstrates that sex offender treatment programmes (SOTPs) can reduce the number of sex offenders who are reconvicted. However, there has been much less empirical research exploring the experiences and perspectives of the prison environment within which treatment takes place. This is important, particularly for sexual offenders, as they often face multiple stigmas in prison. This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore the experiences of prisoners and staff at a therapeutically orientated sexual offenders' prison to understand whether the prison environment was conducive to rehabilitation. The quantitative strand of the research sampled prisoners (n = 112) and staff (n = 48) from a therapeutically orientated sex offenders prison. This strand highlighted that both prisoners and staff had positive attitudes toward offenders and high beliefs that offenders could change. Importantly, the climate was rated positively and, in particular, participants had very high ratings of "experienced safety." The qualitative strand of the research consisted of semistructured interviews with prisoners (n = 15) and a range of prison staff (n = 16). The qualitative analysis revealed positive prisoner views toward staff relationships, with most participants articulating that the prison and its staff had contributed to positive change in prisoners. Crucially, the environment was perceived as safe and allowed prisoners "headspace" to work through problems and contemplate change. This research offers some support to the notion that context is important for sex offender rehabilitation. © The Author(s) 2014.

Women prisoners, mental health, violence and abuse.

PubMed

Macdonald, Morag

2013-01-01

This article examines the specific experiences of women in prison, focusing on previous (and continuing) physical and mental abuse, the consequent health care requirements of women prisoners, the policy response and the availability of suitable health care in prisons across the EU. It draws from an extensive review of the literature on women prisoners across Europe that was part of an on-going European Project funded by the DAPHNE programme of the European Commission, entitled 'DAPHNE Strong'. It also uses the field research from the project collected via surveys and in-depth interviews with key personnel in organisations that work with women prisoners or ex-prisoners and staff with a strategic overview of activity from the ministries of justice, police, prison service and women's support organisations. There are probably many more women prisoners with a history of domestic abuse than is officially recognised. Many of the women prison population who have experienced violence and abuse mask this by problematic drug or alcohol use as well as self-injury. These are key areas that training for prison staff needs to address. The availability of services for this group of women is inconsistent within and between countries of the EU. The political will to address the situation of women in prison, as distinct from the norms applied to men, is variable and it seems to take the determined efforts of active lobby groups to make inroads into an area of latent inertia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prison privatization and HIV prevention in Australia.

PubMed

Cregan, J

Prison privatization is being increasingly discussed as an alternative that might help drive down the cost of corrections in Canada. An Australian conference recently addressed prison privatization. Australia has a long history with privatizing corrections and historically being the site of private penal colonies. Private and State-owned corporations own and manage Australian prisons and the balance of private and public sector activity within the prisons is discussed. HIV/AIDS care and prevention programs provide bleach distribution, education programs for staff and inmates, and safety training. Moral issues debating how much time and money is allocated to HIV/AIDS are addressed. Private operators of prisons have no financial incentive to educate, rehabilitate, or release prisoners.

Tuberculosis incidence in prisons: a systematic review.

PubMed

Baussano, Iacopo; Williams, Brian G; Nunn, Paul; Beggiato, Marta; Fedeli, Ugo; Scano, Fabio

2010-12-21

Transmission of tuberculosis (TB) in prisons has been reported worldwide to be much higher than that reported for the corresponding general population. A systematic review has been performed to assess the risk of incident latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and TB disease in prisons, as compared to the incidence in the corresponding local general population, and to estimate the fraction of TB in the general population attributable (PAF%) to transmission within prisons. Primary peer-reviewed studies have been searched to assess the incidence of LTBI and/or TB within prisons published until June 2010; both inmates and prison staff were considered. Studies, which were independently screened by two reviewers, were eligible for inclusion if they reported the incidence of LTBI and TB disease in prisons. Available data were collected from 23 studies out of 582 potentially relevant unique citations. Five studies from the US and one from Brazil were available to assess the incidence of LTBI in prisons, while 19 studies were available to assess the incidence of TB. The median estimated annual incidence rate ratio (IRR) for LTBI and TB were 26.4 (interquartile range [IQR]: 13.0-61.8) and 23.0 (IQR: 11.7-36.1), respectively. The median estimated fraction (PAF%) of tuberculosis in the general population attributable to the exposure in prisons for TB was 8.5% (IQR: 1.9%-17.9%) and 6.3% (IQR: 2.7%-17.2%) in high- and middle/low-income countries, respectively. The very high IRR and the substantial population attributable fraction show that much better TB control in prisons could potentially protect prisoners and staff from within-prison spread of TB and would significantly reduce the national burden of TB. Future studies should measure the impact of the conditions in prisons on TB transmission and assess the population attributable risk of prison-to-community spread. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Peer social support training in UK prisons.

PubMed

Stewart, Warren; Lovely, Rachel

2017-10-11

To undertake a service evaluation to assess the effect of peer social support training using two separate learning programmes, which were designed to assist prisoners to support older prisoners and prisoners with disabilities. The service evaluation used an action research approach to support planning, delivery and data collection. Eleven interviews with nine prisoners who had undertaken the peer social support training programmes and two members of prison staff (one nurse manager and one prison officer) were recorded and transcribed by the researchers. This data was coded and thematically analysed to evaluate the findings. Recommendations were made regarding the format and content of the training. The training was well received by the peer social support worker trainees and had several positive outcomes, including increased peer social support, improved relationships between peer social support workers and older prisoners and prisoners with disabilities, increased self-esteem, measured as 'social capital', among peer social support workers, and effective teamworking. The peer social support training programmes were considered to be a positive intervention and were effective in supporting peer social support roles. Recommendations for future training of prisoner peer support workers include involving existing peer social support workers in training and recruitment, and enhancing the role of peer social support workers in prisons by providing them with job descriptions. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

The Prison Is Another Country: Incarcerated Students and (Im)Mobility in Australian Prisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farley, Helen; Hopkins, Susan

2017-01-01

Space, time and movement have particular meanings and significance for Australian prisoners attempting higher education while incarcerated. In a sense, the prison is another "world" or "country" with its own spatial and temporal arrangements and constraints for incarcerated university students. The contemporary digital…

Sport and the Inmates Dilemma: Time to Kill or Time to Live.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orlick, T. D.

Interviews were conducted with twenty-eight male and female inmates housed in Canadian maximum and medium security prisons to determine their sports backgrounds and values and the role of sports in their prison lives. As youngsters, the large majority of the subjects interviewed had participated in organized competitive sports. Sport value…

Art Education in a Jail Setting: A Personal Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congdon, Kristin G.

1984-01-01

Teaching art to female prisoners at the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) County Jail gave them a new method of communicating with each other and with the outside world. Despite the difficulties of working within a maximum security prison, there was an atmosphere of sharing among the inmates and between teacher and students. (IS)

Prison hunger strikes: why the motive matters.

PubMed

Annas, G J

1982-12-01

Force feeding of hunger-striking prisoners is discussed in the context of three 1982 state appellate court decisions involving the right to refuse treatment. The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a prisoner's argument; courts in New York and West Virginia found a compelling state interest that justified force feeding, as did an earlier Massachusetts decision that rejected a prisoner's refusal of renal dialysis. The author contends that the Georgia court erred in not distinguishing the motivation of the prisoner--to manipulate the prison system--from that of patients who refuse treatment.

28 CFR 0.96b - Exchange of prisoners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exchange of prisoners. 0.96b Section 0.96b Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Bureau of Prisons § 0.96b Exchange of prisoners. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons and officers of the Bureau of Prisons designated by him are authorized t...

Rehabilitation in Justice: The Prisoner's Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erez, Edna

1987-01-01

Surveyed 348 prison inmates about their needs or interests in rehabilitation programs, reasons for their needs, whether they deserved treatment, and why. Results suggest that prisoners view rehabilitation and reform as the major purpose of punishment or prison sentence. Need was endorsed most often as fairest criterion for program participation.…

Designing an English Curriculum for Prisons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schell, John F.

Teaching composition in a prison is different from teaching composition in a traditional freshman composition classroom. Since most prison inmates have a high school equivalency degree earned while in prison, a developmental writing course offered prior to the standard freshman composition sequence is probably necessary. Such a class may include a…

Developing an attitude towards bullying scale for prisoners: structural analyses across adult men, young adults and women prisoners.

PubMed

Ireland, Jane L; Power, Christina L; Bramhall, Sarah; Flowers, Catherine

2009-01-01

Few studies have attempted to explore attitudes towards bullying among prisoners, despite acknowledgement that attitudes may play an important role. To evaluate the structure of a new attitudinal scale, the Prison Bullying Scale (PBS), with adult men and women in prison and with young male prisoners. That attitudes would be represented as a multidimensional construct and that the PBS structure would be replicated across confirmatory samples. The PBS was developed and confirmed across four independent studies using item parceling and confirmatory factor analysis: Study I comprised 412 adult male prisoners; Study II, 306 adult male prisoners; Study III, 171 male young offenders; and Study IV, 148 adult women prisoners. Attitudes were represented as a multidimensional construct comprising seven core factors. The exploratory analysis was confirmed in adult male samples, with some confirmation among young offenders and adult women. The fit for young offenders was adequate and improved by factor covariance. The fit for women was the poorest overall. The study notes the importance of developing ecologically valid measures and statistically testing these measures prior to their clinical or research use. The development of the PBS holds value both as an assessment and as a research measure and remains the only ecologically validated measure in existence to assess prisoner attitudes towards bullying.

Procedural justice in prison: the importance of staff characteristics.

PubMed

Beijersbergen, Karin A; Dirkzwager, Anja J E; Molleman, Toon; van der Laan, Peter H; Nieuwbeerta, Paul

2015-04-01

A humane and fair treatment of prisoners is of intrinsic value in itself, and is generally acclaimed to reduce prisoners' psychological distress and misconduct in prison, and their criminal behavior after release from prison. To create a more just prison climate, scholars have emphasized the importance of correctional staff. However, there is a lack of empirical research on the relationship between correctional officers' characteristics and prisoners' perceptions of a just treatment in prison. Our study fills this gap in knowledge. Data were used from (a) the Prison Project, a large-scale study in which prisoners held in all Dutch remand centers were surveyed (n = 1,610) and (b) the Dutch Correctional Staff Survey 2011 (n = 690). Multilevel analyses showed that prisoners perceived their treatment in prison as more procedurally just in units where there are more female officers, where officers held more positive attitudes toward rehabilitation, and where there is a higher officer-to-inmate ratio. © The Author(s) 2013.

Project-Based Learning in Scottish Prisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sams, Kirsten

2014-01-01

The article describes the development of a project-based approach to learning in seven Scottish prisons. It argues that the project-based approach is ideally suited to prison education due to its flexibility and ability to enrich the relatively narrow prison curriculum and create meaningful links with wider society, reducing the isolation of…

Prison tobacco control policies and deaths from smoking in United States prisons: population based retrospective analysis

PubMed Central

Carson, E Ann; Krueger, Patrick M; Mueller, Shane R; Steiner, John F; Sabol, William J

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the mortality attributable to smoking and years of potential life lost from smoking among people in prison and whether bans on smoking in prison are associated with reductions in smoking related deaths. Design Analysis of cross sectional survey data with the smoking attributable mortality, morbidity, and economic costs system; population based time series analysis. Setting All state prisons in the United States. Main outcome measures Prevalence of smoking from cross sectional survey of inmates in state correctional facilities. Data on state prison tobacco policies from web based searches of state policies and legislation. Deaths and causes of death in US state prisons from the deaths in custody reporting program of the Bureau of Justice Statistics for 2001-11. Smoking attributable mortality and years of potential life lost was assessed from the smoking attributable mortality, morbidity, and economic costs system of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multivariate Poisson models quantified the association between bans and smoking related cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary deaths. Results The most common causes of deaths related to smoking among people in prison were lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, other heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and chronic airways obstruction. The age adjusted smoking attributable mortality and years of potential life lost rates were 360 and 5149 per 100 000, respectively; these figures are higher than rates in the general US population (248 and 3501, respectively). The number of states with any smoking ban increased from 25 in 2001 to 48 by 2011. In prisons the mortality rate from smoking related causes was lower during years with a ban than during years without a ban (110.4/100 000 v 128.9/100 000). Prisons that implemented smoking bans had a 9% reduction (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 0.95) in smoking related deaths. Bans in place for longer than

Exploring the relationship between ADHD symptoms and prison breaches of discipline amongst youths in four Scottish prisons.

PubMed

Gordon, V; Williams, D J; Donnelly, P D

2012-04-01

To explore the relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity) and violent and non-violent prison breaches of discipline in incarcerated male youths aged 18-21 years. A case-control study of 169 male youth offenders incarcerated in Scottish prisons and classified as 'symptomatic' or 'non-symptomatic' of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms. ADHD symptoms were measured using the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Self Report: Long Version, and prison breaches of discipline were gathered from the Scottish Prison Service's Prisoner Records System. Youths who were symptomatic of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) ADHD total symptoms had a significantly higher number of prison breaches of discipline than those who were non-symptomatic. Youths who were symptomatic of DSM-IV hyperactive/impulsive symptoms had a significantly higher number of violent and non-violent prison breaches of discipline than those who were non-symptomatic. However, no such significant difference was found between youths who were symptomatic and non-symptomatic of DSM-IV inattentive symptoms. Young male offenders who are symptomatic of ADHD have a higher number of prison breaches of discipline. In particular, symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity are associated with breaches of both a violent and non-violent nature. Implications of such symptoms on rehabilitation and recidivism are discussed. Copyright © 2012 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Old and dangerous: Prison and dementia.

PubMed

Cipriani, Gabriele; Danti, Sabrina; Carlesi, Cecilia; Di Fiorino, Mario

2017-10-01

Older prisoners are the fastest growing group of prisoners in many countries. The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of detention of persons suffering from dementia. Medline searches were conducted for relevant articles, chapters and books published until August 2016. Search terms included dementia, elderly, prison and criminal. Publications found through this indexed search were reviewed for further relevant references. As results, there is a lack of data about elderly with dementia in prisons. Given the rise in the average age, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the number of older prisoners is growing. Moreover, some elderly are imprisoned with a concomitant cognitive impairment or psychiatric disorder while others will develop such diseases once incarcerated. At the present time, legal and social systems seem unprepared to handle the phenomenon of dementia in prison. As proposal, health assessments for older first time offenders should become a practice inside the correctional facilities and include an evaluation for specific health issues, such as psychiatric comorbidity and cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Scotland's national naloxone program: The prison experience.

PubMed

Horsburgh, Kirsten; McAuley, Andrew

2018-05-01

Launched in 2011, the Scottish national naloxone program marked an important development in public health policy. Central to its design were strategies to engage prisoners given their elevated risk of drug-related death in the weeks following liberation. Implementation across Scottish prisons has posed particular challenges linked to both operational issues within prison establishments and individual factors affecting staff delivering, and prisoners engaging, with the program. Barriers have been overcome through innovation and partnership working. This commentary has described how the development of the program in prisons has adapted to these challenges to a point where a largely consistent model is in place and where prisoners-on-release are reaping the benefits in terms of reduced opioid-related mortality. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

The Ideal and the Reality: Teaching Interpersonal Communication within the Walls.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meussling, Vonne

Teaching interpersonal values in an "ideal" setting, such as a college classroom, differs greatly from teaching in a "real" setting, in this case a maximum security prison for males. The practice of prison indoctrination dehumanizes inmates, diminishes their self-esteem, and deprives them of positive role models. The nature of the collective…

"My Daddy's Number Is C-92760."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, James E.

1982-01-01

Specially trained inmates in a maximum security prison supervised a play area in the prison visiting room where children could play in a safe and structured way with materials appropriate to their developmental needs. Children were thus able to master, in age-appropriate ways, the circumstances of the visiting room. (Author/CMG)

Inside the Fences: Pedagogical Practices and Purposes of Songwriting in an Adult Male U.S. State Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Mary L.; Wilson, Catherine M.

2017-01-01

We examined pedagogical strategies for facilitating and developing songwriting skills with 17 males incarcerated at a U.S. medium security prison. We also investigated the participants' sense of self-worth, purpose, and social adjustment related to their participation in the songwriters' workshops. The songwriting sessions spanned over two…

Illiterate Prisoners? Myths and Empirical Realities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rankin, Carole E.

2005-01-01

This study reviews state and national surveys of prisoner literacy and compares their results to two recent surveys of literacy in Michigan prisoners. The persistent notion that prisoners are severely illiterate is shown to be a myth. In Michigan, only 10 to 11% of commitments were found to have Test of Adult Basic Education scores below grade…

Prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis and associated risk factors among prisoners in Hadiya Zone prison, Southern Ethiopia.

PubMed

Fuge, Terefe G; Ayanto, Samuel Y

2016-04-02

People concentrated in congregated systems such as prisons, are important but often neglected reservoirs for tuberculosis transmission, and threaten those in the outside community. The condition is more serious in Africa particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to its poor living conditions and ineffective health services. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis and associated risk factors among prisoners in Hadiya Zone prison. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from May to June 2013 in Hadiya Zone prison. Prison inmates who had history of cough for at least a week were included in the study. Three morning sputum samples were collected from suspected inmates and examined through compound light microscopy. The data obtained was analyzed using statistical software like Epidata and STATA. A total of 164 prisoners were included in the survey using active screening strategy and the point prevalence of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in the prison was 349.2 per 100,000 populations; about three times higher than its prevalence in the general population. Even though lack of visit from family was the only variable identified as a risk factor for PTB (P = 0.029), almost all of the PTB positive cases were rural residents, farmers, male youngsters and those who shared cell with TB patients and chronically coughing persons as well as those who stayed in a cell that contains >100 inmates. There is high prevalence of TB in Hadiya Zone prison with possible active transmission of TB within the prison. The study also documented a number of factors which may facilitate exposures to TB though most of them are not significantly associated. Therefore, strong cooperation between prison authorities and the national tuberculosis control programmes is urgently required to develop locally appropriate interventions to reduce transmission.

Psychosocial influences on prisoner suicide: a case-control study of near-lethal self-harm in women prisoners.

PubMed

Marzano, Lisa; Hawton, Keith; Rivlin, Adrienne; Fazel, Seena

2011-03-01

We examined the psychosocial influences on female prisoner suicide by carrying out a study of near-lethal self-harm. We interviewed 60 women prisoners who had recently engaged in near-lethal self-harm (cases) and 60 others who had never carried out near-lethal acts in prison (controls) from all closed female prison establishments in England and Wales, using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. We gathered information on socio-demographic and criminological variables, life events and childhood trauma, exposure to suicidal behaviour, contributory and precipitating factors for near-lethal self-harm, social support and psychological characteristics. While socio-demographic factors were only modestly associated with near-lethal self-harm, being on remand, in single cell accommodation, and reporting negative experiences of imprisonment were strong correlates. Recent life events and past trauma, including different forms of childhood abuse, were also significantly associated with near-lethal self-harm, as were a family history of suicide and high scores on measures of depression, aggression, impulsivity and hostility, and low levels of self-esteem and social support. Our findings underline the importance of both individual and prison-related factors for suicide in custody, and hence the need for a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention in women's prisons. Given the multiple needs of female prisoners at-risk of self-harm and suicide, complex psychosocial interventions are likely to be required, including interventions for abused and bereaved women, and initiatives to improve staff-prisoner relationships and reduce bullying. The findings of this research may provide insights into factors leading to suicidal behaviour in other forensic and institutional settings, such as detention centres and psychiatric hospitals, and may assist in developing suicide prevention policies for prisoners and other at-risk populations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Incarceration, Prisoner Reentry, and Communities

PubMed Central

Morenoff, Jeffrey D.; Harding, David J.

2014-01-01

Since the mid-1970s the United States has experienced an enormous rise in incarceration and accompanying increases in returning prisoners and in post-release community correctional supervision. Poor urban communities are disproportionately impacted by these phenomena. This review focuses on two complementary questions regarding incarceration, prisoner reentry, and communities:(1) whether and how mass incarceration has affected the social and economic structure of American communities, and (2) how residential neighborhoods affect the social and economic reintegration of returning prisoners. These two questions can be seen as part of a dynamic process involving a pernicious “feedback” loop, in which mass incarceration undermines the structure and social organization of some communities, thus creating more criminogenic environments for returning prisoners and further diminishing their prospects for successful reentry and reintegration. PMID:25400321

Prison health-care wings: psychiatry's forgotten frontier?

PubMed

Forrester, Andrew; Chiu, Katrina; Dove, Samantha; Parrott, Janet

2010-02-01

There is worldwide evidence of high rates of mental disorder among prisoners, with significant co-morbidity. In England and Wales, mental health services have been introduced from the National Health Service to meet the need, but prison health-care wings have hardly been evaluated. To conduct a service evaluation of the health-care wing of a busy London remand (pre-trial) prison and examine the prevalence and range of mental health problems, including previously unrecognised psychosis. Service-use data were collected from prison medical records over a 20-week period in 2006-2007, and basic descriptive statistics were generated. Eighty-eight prisoners were admitted (4.4 per week). Most suffered from psychosis, a third of whom were not previously known to services. Eleven men were so ill that they required emergency compulsory treatment in the prison under Common Law before hospital transfer could take place. Over a quarter of the men required hospital transfer. Problem behaviours while on the prison health-care wing were common. Prison health-care wings operate front-line mental illness triaging and recognition functions and also provide care for complex individuals who display behavioural disturbance. Services are not equivalent to those in hospitals, nor the community, but instead reflect the needs of the prison in which they are situated. There is a recognised failure to divert at earlier points in the criminal justice pathway, which may be a consequence of national failure to fund services properly. Hospital treatment is often delayed.

Prisoners and cigarettes or ‘imprisoned in cigarettes’? What helps prisoners quit smoking?

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Abstract Background The aim of the study was, despite the special characteristics of prisons, to identify the features which led prisoners who attended the Smoking Cessation Centre at the Kassavetia Detention Centre in Volos (region of Thessaly, in the central part of mainland Greece) to quit smoking. Methods Personal interviews with 204 male prisoners irrespective of smoking habitus over the period June 2008 to December 2010 were obtained. Information about medical history, history of tobacco use and addiction to narcotic use was obtained and imprisonment status was recorded. Pharmaceutical treatment (Varenicline) and counselling or only counselling were suggested as alternative strategies to them in order to help quit smoking. SPSS v15.0 software was employed, descriptive statistics were used, and a X2 independence test and Student’s t-test were performed. Results Of the sample examined, 75.5% (154) were smokers. They were mainly Greeks (51.5%), single (53.4%) and had not gratuated from a high school (secondary education level) (70.6%). 59.75% begun smoking early ( ≤14 years of age ) and 64.9% were highly addicted according to Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. 74% (114) of all smokers at the prison attended the Smoking Cessation Centre. Of them, 30.7% were able to quit smoking at 3 months but 1 year later there were 20.2% ex-smokers. The key characteristics of those who were able to be ex-smokers were a change in smoking habits (decreased) compared to when free (p = .001), previous attempts to quit (while incarcerated and in general) (p = .001), average dependence levels (p < .001), started smoking after 21 years of age (p = .032), no history of addictive substance use (p = .029), being already prisoners for a longer period of time (p = .019), a limited number (3.9 ± 3.4) of prisoners per cell (p < .001) and in particular a limited number (2.8 ± 3.2) of smokers in the cell (p < .001). Conclusions Average

“Up yours”: smuggling illicit drugs into prison

PubMed Central

George, Sanju; Clayton, Steve; Namboodiri, Vasudevan; Boulay, Sylvie

2009-01-01

A significant proportion of patients who are heroin-dependant and receiving treatment in the community serve prison sentences at some point in their lives, meaning their treatment continues “on the inside”. Although prison inmates are promised the same quality of care as they would get “on the outside”, this is not always the case. Some drawbacks of the drug treatments offered in prisons can lead to people smuggling drugs into prisons. The present work describes how a patient, who is heroin dependant and attending a community drug and alcohol team for methadone maintenance treatment, smuggled methadone and heroin into prison, his reasons for doing that, his personal description of the extent of drug use in prisons and finally what can be done to stop it from treatment and policy perspectives. Drug misuse is common in prisons. Much more can be done at treatment and policy levels to prevent people smuggling drugs into prison. PMID:21954402

Gender differences among prisoners in drug treatment.

PubMed

Langan, N P; Pelissier, B M

2001-01-01

Nearly all prison-based substance abuse treatment programs have been designed with male prisoners in mind. Administering these male-oriented programs to women prisoners has been the standard correctional practice. Recently, this practice has received considerable criticism. Critics argue that female prisoners have special needs that are not met by programs originally designed for male prisoners. However, most of the empirical support for the existence of such special needs rely on two inappropriate samples: prisoners who are not in treatment and treatment participants who are not incarcerated. Findings from these two different groups may not be generalizable to the population of prisoners in treatment. This paper directly addresses this generalizability problem with an examination of gender differences among 1,326 male and 318 female federal prisoners who were enrolled in a substance abuse treatment program. Women used drugs more frequently, used harder drugs, and used them for different reasons than men. Women also confronted more difficulties than men in areas linked to substance abuse such as educational background, childhood family environment, adult social environment, mental health, and physical health. We find support for the argument that substance abuse treatment programs which were originally designed for men may be inappropriate for the treatment of women.

Psychiatric care in the German prison system.

PubMed

Lehmann, Marc

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of medical care within the German penal system. German prison services provide health care for all inmates, including psychiatric care. The reached level of equivalence of care and ethical problems and resource limitations are discussed and the way of legislation in this field since 2006 reform on federal law is described. The article summarizes basic data on German prison health care for mentally ill inmates. The legislation process and factors of influence are pointed out. A description of how psychiatric care is organized in German prisons follows. It focuses on the actual legal situation including European standards of prison health care and prevention of torture, psychiatric care in German prisons themselves, self harm and addiction. Associated problems such as blood born diseases and tuberculosis are included. The interactions between prison staff and health care personal and ethic aspects are discussed. The legislation process is still going on and there is still a chance to improve psychiatric care. Mental health problems are the major challenge for prison health care. Factors such as special problems of migrants, shortage of professionals and pure statistic data are considered. The paper provides a general overview on psychiatric services in prison and names weak points and strengths of the system.

HIV in Indian prisons: risk behaviour, prevalence, prevention & treatment.

PubMed

Dolan, Kate; Larney, Sarah

2010-12-01

HIV is a major health challenge for prison authorities. HIV in prisons has implications for HIV in the general community. The aim of this paper was to gather information on HIV risk, prevalence, prevention and treatment in prisons in India. Relevant published and unpublished reports and information were sought in order to provide a coherent picture of the current situation relating to HIV prevention, treatment and care in prisons in India. Information covered prison management and population statistics, general conditions in prisons, provision of general medical care and the HIV situation in prison. No data on drug injection in prison were identified. Sex between men was reported to be common in some Indian prisons. A national study found that 1.7 per cent of inmates were HIV positive. Some prisons provided HIV education. Condom provision was considered illegal. A few prisoners received drug treatment for drug use, HIV infection or co-infection with sexually transmitted infections (STIs). HIV prevalence in prisons in India was higher than that in the general community. Regular monitoring of information on HIV risk behaviours and prevalence in Indian prisons is strongly recommended. Evidence based treatment for drug injectors and nation-wide provision of HIV prevention strategies are urgently required. Voluntary counselling, testing and treatment for HIV and STIs should be provided.

Tuberculosis incidence and treatment completion among Ugandan prison inmates

PubMed Central

Schwitters, A.; Kaggwa, M.; Omiel, P.; Nagadya, G.; Kisa, N.; Dalal, S.

2016-01-01

SUMMARY BACKGROUND The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) is responsible for the health of approximately 32 500 inmates in 233 prisons. In 2008 a rapid UPS assessment estimated TB prevalence at 654/100 000, three times that of the general population (183/100 000). Although treatment programs exist, little is known about treatment completion in sub-Saharan African prisons. METHODS We conducted a retrospective study of Ugandan prisoners diagnosed with TB from June 2011 to November 2012. We analyzed TB diagnosis, TB-HIV comorbidity and treatment completion from national registers and tracked prison transfers and releases. RESULTS A total of 469 prisoners were diagnosed with TB over the 1.5-year period (incidence 955/100 000 person-years). Of 466 prisoners starting treatment, 48% completed treatment, 43% defaulted, 5% died and 4% were currently on treatment. During treatment, 12% of prisoners remaining in the same prison defaulted, 53% of transfers defaulted and 81% of those released were lost to follow-up. The odds of defaulting were 8.36 times greater among prisoners who were transferred during treatment. CONCLUSIONS TB incidence and treatment default are high among Ugandan prisoners. Strategies to improve treatment completion and prevent multidrug resistance could include avoiding transfer of TB patients, improving communications between prisons to ensure treatment follow-up after transfer and facilitating transfer to community clinics for released prisoners. PMID:24902552

Stress management techniques in the prison setting.

PubMed

Kristofersson, Gisli Kort; Kaas, Merrie J

2013-01-01

The percentage of incarcerated individuals in the United States is currently close to an all time high, and more stressful places than prisons are hard to find. Because registered nurses and advance practice nurses are often the only healthcare providers readily available to prison inmates, nurses need a repertoire of effective strategies to minimize prisoners' stress-related symptoms and behaviors. The purpose of this critical literature review was to identify the state of knowledge about using stress management techniques (SMTs) in the prison setting for reducing psychological problems and/or behavioral problems in male and female adult prison populations. A comprehensive, systematic integrated literature search was performed using multiple relevant databases to identify studies using various SMTs for incarcerated adults. Although clinical practice recommendations for the use of SMTs in the prison setting cannot be made with strong certainty, nurses working in the prison setting should continue to incorporate muscle relaxation, Transcendental Meditation, and certain Eastern meditative practices in the care of their clients because of the safety and possible positive impacts and practicality these methods have in this setting.

Transmission of tuberculosis in the prison of Antananarivo (Madagascar).

PubMed

Rasolofo-Razanamparany, V; Ménard, D; Ratsitorahina, M; Aurégan, G; Gicquel, B; Chanteau, S

2000-11-01

The prevalence of tuberculosis in the Antananarivo prison is 16 times higher than that in the general population of Madagascar. We compared the clustering of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains within and outside the prison and studied the transmission of strains in the prison. M. tuberculosis strains isolated in 1994 to 1995 from 146 prisoners and from 260 nonprisoner patients from Antananarivo were typed using the genetic markers IS6110 and direct repeat. We compared the strains isolated from prisoners and nonprisoners and found that the clustering rate was higher within (58.9%) than outside the prison (40%) suggesting that the transmission rate was higher in prison. Of the 146 incarcerated patients, 82 were grouped into 22 clusters. We checked for possible tuberculosis transmission between prisoners with identical strains by epidemiological investigation of the various prison clusters. We found that 9.5% of the incarcerated patients could have been sources of infection and that only 15.1% could have been infected in the prison. One hundred and twenty-seven prison patients were new cases. Epidemiological data suggested that 37% of them resulted from a reactivation of an old infection, due to poor living conditions or recent transmission from an index case outside the prison.

Is mental heal care in women's prisons adequate?

PubMed

Sims, Joyce

Some individuals and groups, find it difficult to seek healthcare, including prisoners. This group is recognised as needing input but are often difficult to engage, yet failure to meet their needs can be devastating for the health of individuals and have wider implications on society. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of female prisoners who had not yet consulted the mental health team. I aimed to find out what support these women seek out while in prison, what difficulties they encountered in getting psychological help and whether they avoided statutory mental health services. Participants revealed during semistructured interviews that continuing to have a caring role for their families encouraged them to feel more positive and supported. Support from family members, specialist prison officers and the multi-faith centre staff team was also highly regarded. Some of the participants reported experiencing problems self-referring to prison mental health services, for example when transferred to a new prison. They identified the prison application system and inreach administrative failings as weaknesses, alongside other variables. I found that prisoners did not avoid mental health services and often once settled in the prison, they reconsidered their need for statutory support.

Prison suicides in Germany from 2000 to 2011.

PubMed

Opitz-Welke, Annette; Bennefeld-Kersten, Katharina; Konrad, Norbert; Welke, Justus

2013-01-01

In many countries, suicide is the most frequent cause of prison deaths; moreover, the respective national penal suicide rates are consistently several times higher than the suicide rates in the general population. To assess the situation in German prisons, an assessment of all suicides in German prisons by means of a survey was carried out for the time from 2000 to 2011. The mean rate per year of prison suicides in Germany from 2000 to 2011 was 105.8 per 100,000 male inmates and 54.7 per 100,000 female inmates. Male prisoner suicide rates significantly declined during the period under investigation; no significant trend was evident for female prisoners in pre-trial detention but a noteworthy increase was apparent in the suicide rate of female sentenced prisoners. A significant positive relationship can be demonstrated between occupation density and the suicide rate for both men and women. These results should be taken as a challenge for further research on the reasons for the unexpected increase of suicide rate in female sentenced prisoners and as well on the effect of population density on prison suicide rate. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Treatment of psychosis in prisons and violent recidivism

PubMed Central

Kallis, Constantinos; Coid, Jeremy

2015-01-01

Background Violence among released prisoners with psychosis is an important public health problem. It is unclear whether treatment in prison can influence criminal behaviour subsequent to release. Aims To investigate whether treatment in prison can delay time to reoffending. Method Our sample consisted of 1717 adult prisoners in England and Wales convicted of a serious violent or sexual offence. We used Cox regression to investigate the effects of treatment received in prison on associations between mental illness and time to first reconviction following release. Results Prisoners with current symptoms of schizophrenia reoffended quicker following release. Nevertheless, treatment with medication significantly delayed time to violence (18% reduction). Treatment for substance dependence delayed violent and non-violent reoffending among prisoners with drug-induced psychosis. Conclusions Identifying prisoners with psychosis and administering treatment in prison have important protective effects against reoffending. Repeated screening with improved accuracy in identification is necessary to prevent cases being missed. Declaration of interest None. Copyright and usage © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. PMID:27703740

Bearing Stigma, Carrying Gifts: What Colleges Can Learn from Students with Incarceration Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halkovic, Alexis; Greene, Andrew Cory

2015-01-01

There is an abundance of social science research confirming the positive outcomes associated with higher education for people who have served time in prison (Chappell in "J Correct Educ" 55(2): 148-169, 2004; Fine et al. in "Changing minds: the impact of college in a maximum-security prison," Ronald Ridgeway, New York, 2001;…

Toward healthy prisons: the TECH model and its applications.

PubMed

Ross, Michael W; Jo Harzke, Amy

2012-01-01

This paper aims to explore how the TECH Model (testing for and treating infectious diseases and vaccination; environmental modification to prevent disease transmission; chronic disease identification and treatment; and health maintenance and education) can be used for assessing and achieving healthy prisons. This paper explores the concepts of "health in prison" and "healthy prisons" in the context of recent research and guidance. The paper then considers the TECH Model as an approach to achieving healthy prisons. Under each of the four TECH Model domains are tasks to achieve a healthy prison. For prisons with poor or no resources, each domain contains steps that will improve prison health and move towards a healthy prison for both prisoners and staff. Implementation can thus be "low-TECH" or "high-TECH" depending on the setting and the available resources and the model is specifically designed to provide options for resource-poor as well as resource-rich correctional settings. The TECH Model is a first step in characterizing the components of a healthy prison and the processes to achieve this. This Model could be implemented in all levels of prisons internationally.

All Aboard the Desistance Line: First Stop, Producing Prosocial Prison Attachments within an HIV Prison-Based Peer Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collica-Cox, Kimberly

2016-01-01

This article explores the importance of social bonds in facilitating an investment in prosocial behavior amongst female prisoners working as HIV peer educators. Female prisoners can lack strong prosocial attachments to both individuals and institutions prior to incarceration. Absent this bond, little prevents the female prisoner from recidivating.…

Prison Nursing: Formation of a Stable Professional Identity.

PubMed

Choudhry, Khurshid; Armstrong, David; Dregan, Alexandru

The aim of this study was to analyze how working within prison environments can influence the self-identity and professional identity of nurses. The prison environment can be a difficult environment for nurses to deliver care within, with nurses having to carry out activities that seem to go against their professional role, while at the same time providing care to prisoners who have greater health needs than the general population. There is a lack of theoretical consideration of how prison nurses carry out their role in the face of such challenges. This study used a review of literature published over the last 11 years exploring nurses' beliefs, thoughts, and feelings toward delivering care within prison environment. With time, nurses working within prison environments develop specific skills to be able to deliver appropriate care to their patients. These skills include adapting to both the prison environment and the prison culture. Ultimately, adaptations lead to a change in identity allowing nurses to work effectively within prison. Providers of prison healthcare should ensure that induction (orientation) processes for new nurses are designed to address specific challenges that nurses face including the potential for cognitive dissonance. They should ensure that nurses receive training to develop and acquire the skills highlighted in this review. Ensuring that this training is in place may increase nurse retention.

Forget me not: dementia in prison.

PubMed

Maschi, Tina; Kwak, Jung; Ko, Eunjeong; Morrissey, Mary B

2012-08-01

The number of older adults with dementia in U.S. prisons is rapidly rising. Yet, the vast majority of this marginalized subgroup of the aging population is left neglected behind bars without access to adequate medical and mental health care services. We assert that proactive, interdisciplinary collaborative efforts to improve practice, policy, and research and to develop a high-quality evidence-based continuum of care for this aging population are urgently needed. The overarching goals of this paper are to raise awareness of the life and experiences of persons with dementia in prison and to stimulate discussion, research, and advocacy efforts for this forgotten subgroup of older Americans. We describe the growing number of older adults with dementia in U.S. prisons, high-risk factors for dementia present in the prison population, and the life and experience of persons with dementia in the culture and environment of prison that is primarily not designed for them. We review the current state of services and programs for dementia in prison. We conclude by proposing practice, policy, and research-related priority areas and strategies for interdisciplinary gerontological responses.

Acceptance or refusal of convenience food in present-day prison.

PubMed

Vanhouche, An-Sofie

2015-11-01

Food in prison is an insufficiently researched topic. However, prisoners often highlight problems with and criticism of their prison meals. This article aims to further develop this topic by giving closer insight into the use and attitudes toward ready-made meals in the Tilburg prison. In this prison, prisoners receive ready-made meals. This is in contrast to Belgian prisons, from which they were transferred, where meals were made from scratch. This change in the food system led to commotion and complaints. To understand the situation, interviews with prisoners and staff were conducted and observations in the Tilburg prison were made. The results showed that a food system can have considerable influence on prison experiences. In addition, and contrary to what earlier reports have mentioned, the ready-made meals also have some advantages, especially for the organization of daily prison life. However, most prisoners had negative attitudes toward these meals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety disorder in a sample of inmates in a Nigerian prison.

PubMed

Osasona, Samuel O; Koleoso, Olaide N

2015-01-01

Prisoners tend to be marginalized and deprived of the rights and privileges that other citizens in the community enjoy. Their separation from families, adverse effects on health of prison environment, and the uncertainty about the future place a great psychological burden on them which can lead to the development of mental illness. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity (depression and anxiety) and the associated factors among a sample of the prison inmates. The study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design; it was conducted in a medium security prison in Benin City, Nigeria. Participants were interviewed with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Two hundred and fifty-two prisoners who were selected by systematic sampling techniques participated in the study and the data were analyzed using the 16th version of the SPSS with the statistical level of significance set at p < 0.05. Data were presented in tables; frequencies and percentages were calculated. Chi-square and logistic regression statistical tests were performed to determine variables that have relationship with psychiatric morbidity. The mean age of the respondents was 33.6 years (SD ± 9.29), and the majority of the respondents (43.7%) were in the age range 21-30 years. The prevalence of general psychiatric morbidity (SRQ-20 caseness) was 80.6%, while 72.6% and 77.8% were found to be positive for depression and anxiety symptoms respectively on the HADS. Overall, 84.5% of the respondents had at least one type of psychiatric morbidity. Age, marital status, self-reported physical and mental health, previous mental illness, imprisonment status, prison accommodation, prison meal, and health care services were found to be significantly associated with depression, anxiety or general psychiatric morbidity. Self-reported poor current mental health was the only variable that

Masculinities, Attachment Theory and Transformative Learning: A Discussion of Some Theoretical Considerations for Developing an Emotionally Secure Teaching Praxis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carberry, Damien

2017-01-01

This paper situates education as an integral component of the overall prison rehabilitation process. The article discusses how an educational practitioner's knowledge of attachment theory and masculinities can be utilized to develop a secure methodological teaching environment in the classroom of a prison education unit and create a space where…

Shakespeare in Prison: affecting health and wellbeing.

PubMed

Marie Heard, Emma; Mutch, Allyson; Fitzgerald, Lisa; Pensalfini, Rob

2013-01-01

This research aimed to investigate the impacts of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble Prison Project (QSEPP) on the health and wellbeing of participants, specifically with regard to social support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with prisoners participating in the project to gain insight into perceived sense of support within the QSEPP and across the prison context more broadly. The QSEPP encouraged participants to foster a range of support networks through the development of relationships built on trust, respect and shared experiences. Participants also developed communication skills which may assist with establishing and maintaining supportive relationships inside and outside of prison. This research highlights the inevitable challenges for researchers working within the prison context, including: correctional services' limitations, time and space restrictions and small sample sizes. This research offers some potentially innovative ways to combat such challenges. The study highlights the potential of theatre-based interventions in the prison context and their role in fostering social support and enhancing wellbeing. The research explores the potential role theatre may play in improving the health and wellbeing of a disadvantaged and marginalised group, providing skills to enhance access to supportive networks inside and outside prison. To the best of our knowledge this is the first research of its kind and provides valuable insights into the role that theatre may play in fostering social support in the prison context.

Trajectories of psychological distress after prison release: implications for mental health service need in ex-prisoners.

PubMed

Thomas, E G; Spittal, M J; Heffernan, E B; Taxman, F S; Alati, R; Kinner, S A

2016-02-01

Understanding individual-level changes in mental health status after prison release is crucial to providing targeted and effective mental health care to ex-prisoners. We aimed to describe trajectories of psychological distress following prison discharge and compare these trajectories with mental health service use in the community. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was administered to 1216 sentenced adult prisoners in Queensland, Australia, before prison release and approximately 1, 3 and 6 months after release. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify K10 trajectories after release. Contact with community mental health services in the year following release was assessed via data linkage. We identified five trajectory groups, representing consistently low (51.1% of the cohort), consistently moderate (29.8%), high increasing (11.6%), high declining (5.5%) and consistently very high (1.9%) psychological distress. Mood disorder, anxiety disorder, history of self-harm and risky drug use were risk factors for the high increasing, very high and high declining trajectory groups. Women were over-represented in the high increasing and high declining groups, but men were at higher risk of very high psychological distress. Within the high increasing and very high groups, 25% of participants accessed community mental health services in the first year post-release, for a median of 4.4 contact hours. For the majority of prisoners with high to very high psychological distress, distress persists after release. However, contact with mental health services in the community appears low. Further research is required to understand barriers to mental health service access among ex-prisoners.

The safe implementation of a prison-based methadone maintenance programme: 7 year time-series analysis of primary care prescribing data

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Internationally there is policy support for the introduction of methadone maintenance programmes into prison settings. Increasingly GPs are encouraged to undertake this work although concerns remain regarding the safety of such programmes. This study sought to evaluate the impact and safety of the introduction of a general practitioner with a special interest (GPsi) in substance misuse led methadone prescribing service into a UK prison between 2003 and 2010. Methods Time series analysis of secondary prescribing data pertaining to opiate maintenance therapies, opiate detoxification therapies and opiate related deaths for the time period 2003 to 2010. Results Results show that following introduction of a GPsi in substance misuse there was a statistically significant increase in both methadone maintenance and detoxification treatments. Over time the rate of methadone maintenance prescribing plateaued with a corresponding decrease in the rate of methadone detoxification prescribing. There were no methadone related deaths in prison over the study period. Conclusion The phased introduction of opiate replacement therapies into a busy remand prison did not result in any deaths within the prison for which opiate replacement was identified as the cause. GPsi led opiate prescribing programmes can be introduced safely into secure environments. PMID:24712316

Hepatitis C viral infection among prisoners.

PubMed

Kostić, Velimir; Radović, Jelena; Djordjević, Jovana; Vujić, Stevan

2013-11-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important sociomedical problem worldwide because the chronification of the disease is frequent and the occurance of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma can be expected. The aim of this study was to determine the way of infection, pathohistological changes of the liver, virus genotype presence and sustained virological response after pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy in prison inmates. The study included 52 patients with chronic HCV infection classified in two groups managed during 2008-2010. The first group consisted of prisoners (n = 22) and the second one of "non-prisoners" (n = 30). The patients from both groups underwent diagnostic preparation (biochemical analyses, liver biopsy, hepatitis virus detection and genotypisation using polymerase chain reaction issue). The treatment lasted for 24 weeks for virus genotypes 2 and 3, and 48 weeks for genotypes 1 and 4. All the patients were males, approximately the same age (35 +/- 4.1 and 31 +/- 7.6 years). Virus genotype 1 was significantly more frequent in the prisoners (p < 0.05), that demanded longer treatment (48 weeks). At the same time, statistically significant higher number of patients, "non-prisoners", achieved a sustained virological response (p < 0.01). Intravenous drug abuse and tattoos, separately or together, are the most frequent way of infection in prisoners. The dominant presence of virus genotype 1 resulted in lower number of patients with sustained virological response, probably regardless prison environment and regime.

Developing a sleep apnoea clinic for prisoners.

PubMed

Reynolds, Sue

People in prison may experience barriers in accessing health services. By exploring some of these barriers and how they have been overcome, this article describes how prisoners were made aware of obstructive sleep apnoea and the associated risks, and how a clinic was set up in a prison healthcare centre. It shows how access to a community service was made available to the prisoners, and details how the service was set up, how it operates and what the outcomes achieved.

Health care help seeking behaviour among prisoners in Norway.

PubMed

Nesset, Merete Berg; Rustad, Ase-Bente; Kjelsberg, Ellen; Almvik, Roger; Bjørngaard, Johan Håkon

2011-11-04

Prisoners are associated with high health care needs compared with the general population. This study aims to investigate prisoners' use of health service. A cross-sectional study of 29 prisons in central and southern parts of Norway. A questionnaire was distributed to 1, 454 prisoners (90% response rate). Multilevel analyses were employed to analyse help seeking behaviour among the prisoners. Help seeking was substantially associated with sleep problems and drug problems. There was also a tendency for closed prisons as well as high staffing levels of healthcare professionals to be associated with elevated health care use. This study suggests that sleep problems and drug use are most frequently associated with health service use. The differences in health care use between prisons suggest that the implementation of prison health care standards should be addressed.

Against the Narrowing of Perspectives: How Do We See Learning, Prisons and Prisoners?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Kevin

2007-01-01

In order to offer some context for themes set for this conference, alternative answers to the three-part question are explored. Ways of seeing learning, prisons and prisoners are each looked at in turn, and in each case an argument against a narrowing of perspective is made. We can view learning in the adult education tradition as geared to…

Prisons' preparedness for pandemic flu and the ethical issues.

PubMed

van't Hoff, G; Fedosejeva, R; Mihailescu, L

2009-06-01

In Europe at any given time there are about 1,8 million people imprisoned in penal institutions. About 1 million personnel are working in prisons. With prisons, from the start there are fundamental problems in many parts of Europe. Poor housing conditions in prisons and a high proportion of prisoners who already suffer from severe health problems mean the chance of an outbreak in prison during a pandemic must be quite high. We expect it can be up to 90%. In this article we explain what the characteristics are of the prison population from a health point of view. A high rate of detainees suffers from mental health disorders and/or addiction. A high prevalence of communicable and infectious diseases is the rule, not an exception. According to the European Prison Rules and many other international rules, statements and documents prison health care should be an integral part of the public health system of any country. However, it has to be accepted that the prison population is the least popular in society and in politics. In reality in many countries in Europe the situation in prison cannot meet the level strived for by the European Prison Rules. We compare preparedness on pandemic flu in The Netherlands, Latvia and Romania. We explore the problems and ethical issues that may arise if a pandemic breaks out. There are three ethical dilemmas that require consideration: equivalence of care and prisoners' right to health care; prisoners' interests verses society's interests; countries in need and calls for bilateral help.

Risk Factors for Attempting Suicide in Prisoners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarchiapone, Marco; Carli, Vladimir; Di Giannantonio, Massimo; Roy, Alec

2009-01-01

We wished to examine determinants of suicidal behavior in prisoners. 903 male prisoners had a psychiatric interview which included various psychometric tests. Suicide attempters were compared with prisoners who had never attempted suicide. Significantly more of the attempters had a history of psychiatric disorder, substance abuse, a family history…

Drugs and discretionary power in prisons: The officer's perspective.

PubMed

Kolind, Torsten

2015-09-01

Drugs play an increasing role in contemporary prison life. Prisoners' drug use, drug smuggling and drug selling have also had a growing impact on the work routines and practices of prison officers. This has led to critiques that prison staff have become 'too lenient' regarding drug use. Based on observational data, qualitative interviews and survey data, this study examines the role of drugs in the way Danish prison officers exercise power. Two forms of power are analysed: institutional power, by which the officers can sanction or reward inmates in everyday prison life, and personal power, by which the officers' personal authority and skills can reduce the more intrusive aspects of prison control. These forms of power are applied by officers' use of discretion in order to maintain what they consider to be adequate levels of peace and order in the prison wings. It is shown that officers are highly ambivalent towards the presence of drugs in prisons. On the one hand, they support the stricter drug policies implemented over the past two decades. On the other hand, they are aware that drug use can have a positive function in the everyday running of the prison. Officers' acceptance of inmates' drug use (mainly cannabis), therefore, is not necessarily a sign of leniency but one way in which prison officers exercise their power in prison settings. It is concluded that discretionary power is still very central to the officers' work. This conclusion contradicts recent arguments that prison officers' agency is being threatened or restricted by 'neoliberal' management reforms. The prison officers' discretion and informal power is the key to understanding their acceptance of inmates' drug use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Opt-out HIV testing in prison: informed and voluntary?

PubMed

Rosen, David L; Golin, Carol E; Grodensky, Catherine A; May, Jeanine; Bowling, J Michael; DeVellis, Robert F; White, Becky L; Wohl, David A

2015-01-01

HIV testing in prison settings has been identified as an important mechanism to detect cases among high-risk, underserved populations. Several public health organizations recommend that testing across health-care settings, including prisons, be delivered in an opt-out manner. However, implementation of opt-out testing within prisons may pose challenges in delivering testing that is informed and understood to be voluntary. In a large state prison system with a policy of voluntary opt-out HIV testing, we randomly sampled adult prisoners in each of seven intake prisons within two weeks after their opportunity to be HIV tested. We surveyed prisoners' perception of HIV testing as voluntary or mandatory and used multivariable statistical models to identify factors associated with their perception. We also linked survey responses to lab records to determine if prisoners' test status (tested or not) matched their desired and perceived test status. Thirty-eight percent (359/936) perceived testing as voluntary. The perception that testing was mandatory was positively associated with age less than 25 years (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24, 1.71) and preference that testing be mandatory (aRR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.31) but negatively associated with entry into one of the intake prisons (aRR: 0.41 95% CI: 0.27, 0.63). Eighty-nine percent of prisoners wanted to be tested, 85% were tested according to their wishes, and 82% correctly understood whether or not they were tested. Most prisoners wanted to be HIV tested and were aware that they had been tested, but less than 40% understood testing to be voluntary. Prisoners' understanding of the voluntary nature of testing varied by intake prison and by a few individual-level factors. Testing procedures should ensure that opt-out testing is informed and understood to be voluntary by prisoners and other vulnerable populations.

5 CFR 9701.312 - Maximum rates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Maximum rates. 9701.312 Section 9701.312 Administrative Personnel DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY-OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HUMAN RESOURCES...

Health care help seeking behaviour among prisoners in Norway

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Prisoners are associated with high health care needs compared with the general population. This study aims to investigate prisoners' use of health service. Methods A cross-sectional study of 29 prisons in central and southern parts of Norway. A questionnaire was distributed to 1, 454 prisoners (90% response rate). Multilevel analyses were employed to analyse help seeking behaviour among the prisoners. Results Help seeking was substantially associated with sleep problems and drug problems. There was also a tendency for closed prisons as well as high staffing levels of healthcare professionals to be associated with elevated health care use. Conclusions This study suggests that sleep problems and drug use are most frequently associated with health service use. The differences in health care use between prisons suggest that the implementation of prison health care standards should be addressed. PMID:22053920

Prison hospice: an unlikely success.

PubMed

Craig, E L; Craig, R E

1999-01-01

Efforts to introduce hospice and palliative care into American prisons have become fairly widespread, in response to the sharp increase in inmate deaths. The primary impetus originally came from the alarming number of AIDS deaths among prisoners. The new combination therapies have proved very successful in treating AIDS, but are very costly, and many problems must be overcome to ensure their effectiveness in correctional settings. Although the AIDS epidemic seems to be in decline, prisons are experiencing a rise in the number of deaths due to "natural causes." In this article we present a review of the prison hospice scene--the response to this crisis in correctional health care. First, we discuss the challenges facing the introduction of hospice into the correctional setting. Then, we present a brief overview of recent developments and a discussion of some ways hospice components have been adapted for life behind bars. Finally, we indicate some of the prospects for the future. Hospice professionals, armed with thorough professional training and years of experience, often fear that correctional health care providers will only parody superficial aspects of the hospice approach. Continual nudging and nurturing by local and state hospice professionals is required in order to bring about this change in the first place and to sustain it through time. Prison hospice workers need not only initial training, but also ongoing education and personal contact with experienced hospice professionals. While the interest of the big national organizations is necessary, the real action happens when local hospices work with nearby prisons to attend to the needs of dying inmates.

Should condoms be available in prisons?

PubMed

1997-09-01

Worldwide, it is increasingly recognized that sex occurs in prisons and this condition promotes HIV transmission among men. It is noted that in prisons, men usually engage in consensual or forced anal sex for lust, comfort, privileges or domination. This sexual behavior is one of the riskiest sexual practices in transmitting HIV infection because of the frequent tearing of sensitive anal membranes. In view of such a serious problem, that will also impact widely on the community when prisoners are released, a multi-pronged strategy is needed. Several initiatives addressing the issue are being reviewed or implemented in various countries. In Zimbabwe, among the listed options under consideration in the draft National Policy on HIV/AIDS, the most debated policy issue is the dissemination of condoms in prison. Much public dissent has been noted, in which the fear is that this would be seen as condoning homosexuality. However, it is emphasized that the issue in prisons is not one of homosexuality, but of recognizing that many heterosexual men in prison will take the only sexual outlet available to them (in addition to masturbation). In doing so, they are at great risk of HIV infection, hence encouraging mutual or self masturbation and actively promoting condom use must be part of the response to the epidemic issue.

A Commentary on Age Segregation for Older Prisoners

PubMed Central

Kerbs, John J.; Jolley, Jennifer M.

2014-01-01

The growing number of older prisoners in state and federal prisons has fostered an important discussion in literature regarding the potential benefits of age-segregated living arrangements for older inmates. This article begins with a brief review of the reasons for America's aging prison population. Thereafter, it uses a multidisciplinary literature review to clarify a 4-point rationale for age-segregated prisons: (a) cost savings via centralized health care for older prisoners; (b) the reduction of civil liabilities for correctional systems that centralize disability services as per requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; (c) the advancement of prisoner safety for older inmates; and (d) the promotion of rehabilitation by advancing treatment opportunities with a group that is most likely to desist from future criminal activity (in part) due to age-related desistance from crime. Conclusions focus on age segregation within the historical context of segregation in prison based on sociodemographic characteristics. PMID:28316366

Mental health in prisons: A public health agenda.

PubMed

Fraser, A

2009-01-01

Mental illness affects the majority of prisoners. Mental health issues are beginning to take a central position in the development of prison health services, reflecting this burden of disease. This change in focus is not before time. But prison mental health services cannot exist in isolation. Public health systems should lead provision of care for patients with acute and severe illness. A whole prison approach to health and, specifically, mental health will offer the greatest likelihood that offenders will thrive, benefit from imprisonment, and lead law-abiding lives after release. Public awareness of the scale and commitment of prisons to mental health and illness, and understanding of prisons' role in society, are necessary developments that would protect and enhance public mental health, as well as creating a healthier and safer society. This article draws on recent reviews, information and statements to set out a public health agenda for mental health in prisons.

The health of female prisoners in Indonesia.

PubMed

Rahmah, Amala; Blogg, James; Silitonga, Nurlan; Aman, Muqowimul; Michael Power, Robert

2014-01-01

Indonesian law provides prisoners with basic rights, including access to education, health care and nutrition. Yet, structural and institutional limitations, notably overcrowding and under-resourcing, prohibits penal institutions from fulfilling these commitments for female prisoners. The purpose of this paper is to explore their health concerns. Six prisons and one detention centre were researched, comprising: female prisoners (n=69); clinical officers (six); clinic heads (seven); wardens (seven); heads of prisons (seven); and a Directorate representative. Data were collected through observation, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. Raw data were transcribed and analysed thematically, adopting the General Principles of Grounded Theory. Both "formal" and "informal" health-coping strategies were dependent upon a range of factors which determined access to treatment, medicines and other items procured both inside and outside of the prison, as well as referral services. Informal systems of support existed for women, especially in regard to pregnancy and raising of babies born in detention. Systems that maintain harmony within cell blocks were identified as an important informal coping strategy. This research is important in informing policy and practice. There is a clear need for gender-sensitive legislative frameworks, penal policies and prison rules to ensure women's needs are addressed. The identified coping strategies were considered viable, but do not replace the need for a health system providing women prisoners with levels of care as available in the community, including commensurate budgeting, personnel, access and referral to more specialised external health services.

Race in California's prison fire camps for men: prison politics, space, and the racialization of everyday life.

PubMed

Goodman, Philip

2014-09-01

The vast majority of social scientists agree that race is "socially constructed." Yet many scholars of punishment and prisons still treat race as static, self-evident categories. One result is that not enough is known about the production, meanings, and consequences of race as experienced by prisoners and those who guard and manage them. The author's research on California's prison fire camps uncovers the micro-level ways in which race is performed and imbued with meaning; he reveals how racial understandings color people and settings. One puzzle is that prisoners in California's fire camps will fight natural disasters side by side, sharing water and provisions, but separate into racial groups when in the camp itself. In part to answer this (and in part to develop better understandings of race and prisons more generally), the author unpacks the variegated nature of punishment and the spatialization of race and advocates for research that is faithful to the constructivist framework.

EFFECT OF HIV PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAM ON HIV AND HCV TRANSMISSION AND HIV MORTALITY AT AN INDONESIAN NARCOTIC PRISON.

PubMed

Nelwan, Erni J; Indrati, Agnes K; Isa, Ahmad; Triani, Nurlita; Alam, Nisaa Nur; Herlan, Maria S; Husen, Wahid; Pohan, Herdiman T; Alisjahbana, Bachti; Meheus, Andre; Van Crevel, Reinout; van der Ven, Andre Jam

2015-09-01

Validated data regarding HIV-transmission in prisons in developing countries is scarce. We examined sexual and injecting drug use behavior and HIV and HCV transmission in an Indonesian narcotic prison during the implementation of an HIV prevention and treatment program during 2004-2007 when the Banceuy Narcotic Prison in Indonesia conducted an HIV transmission prevention program to provide 1) HIV education, 2) voluntary HIV testing and counseling, 3) condom supply, 4) prevention of rape and sexual violence, 5) antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive prisoners and 6) methadone maintenance treatment. During a first survey that was conducted between 2007 and 2009, new prisoners entered Banceuy Narcotics Prison were voluntary tested for HIV and HCV-infection after written informed consent was obtained. Information regarding sexual and injecting risk behavior and physical status were also recorded at admission to the prison. Participants who tested negative for both HIV and HCV during the first survey were included in a second survey conducted during 2008-2011. During both surveys, data on mortality among HIV-seropositive patients were also recorded. All HIV-seropositive participants receive treatment for HIV. HIV/ AIDS-related deaths decreased: 43% in 2006, 18% in 2007, 9% in 2008 and 0% in 2009. No HIV and HCV seroconversion inside Banceuy Narcotic Prison were found after a median of 23 months imprisonment (maximum follow-up: 38 months). Total of 484.8 person-years observation was done. Participants reported HIV transmission risk-behavior in Banceuy Prison during the second survey was low. After implementation of HIV prevention and treatment program, no new HIV or HCV cases were detected and HIV-related mortality decreased.

Trajectories of Neighborhood Attainment after Prison

PubMed Central

Lee, Keun Bok; Harding, David J.; Morenoff, Jeffrey D.

2018-01-01

A potentially important but understudied aspect of prisoner reentry is the neighborhood environments experienced by formerly incarcerated people. We know that many formerly incarcerated people return to very disadvantaged neighborhood environments and that returning to disadvantaged neighborhoods after prison increases the risk of recidivism and reduces employment. Yet very little is known about the social, economic, and institutional processes that sort formerly incarcerated people into different neighborhoods after release or their trajectories of neighborhood attainment over time. Motivated by a conceptualization of prisoner reentry and reintegration as a process that unfolds over time, we examine trajectories of neighborhood environments after release. Motivated by the literatures on neighborhood attainment, social capital, and the role of criminal justice institutions in structuring the lives of former prisoners, we examine sources of variation in neighborhood attainment. We use administrative data from the Michigan Department of Corrections on formerly incarcerated people paroled in 2003 and followed for two years after release. Descriptive results from a latent class trajectory model show that most white and black formerly incarcerated people experience flat trajectories, with little upward or downward residential mobility over time. Findings from multi-level growth curve models suggest that institutional factors are particularly important for the neighborhood attainment of whites, while human capital and social ties are particularly important for blacks. Among both blacks and whites, pre-prison and first post-prison neighborhood conditions exhibit a strong association with post-prison neighborhood attainment, although these associations are larger for blacks than whites. PMID:28705357

Implementing methadone maintenance treatment in prisons in Malaysia.

PubMed

Wickersham, Jeffrey A; Marcus, Ruthanne; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Zahari, Muhammad Muhsin; Altice, Frederick L

2013-02-01

In Malaysia, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is highly concentrated among people who inject opioids. For this reason, the country undertook a three-phase roll-out of a methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programme. In Phase 3, described in this paper, MMT was implemented within prisons and retention in care was assessed. After developing standard operating procedures and agreement between its Prisons Department and Ministry of Health, Malaysia established pilot MMT programmes in two prisons in the states of Kelantan (2008) and Selangor (2009) - those with the highest proportions of HIV-infected prisoners. Community-based MMT programmes were also established in Malaysia to integrate treatment activities after prisoners' release. Having failed to reduce the incidence of HIV infection, in 2005 Malaysia embarked on a harm reduction strategy. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES WERE MODIFIED TO: (i) escalate the dose of methadone more slowly; (ii) provide ongoing education and training for medical and correctional staff and inmates; (iii) increase the duration of methadone treatment before releasing prisoners; (iv) reinforce linkages with community MMT programmes after prisoners' release; (v) screen for and treat tuberculosis; (vi) escalate the dose of methadone during treatment for HIV infection and tuberculosis; and (vii) optimize the daily oral dose of methadone (> 80 mg) before releasing prisoners. Prison-based MMT programmes can be effectively implemented but require adequate dosing and measures are needed to improve communication between prison and police authorities, prevent police harassment of MMT clients after their release, and improve systems for tracking release dates.

Organ procurement from executed prisoners in China.

PubMed

Sharif, A; Singh, M Fiatarone; Trey, T; Lavee, J

2014-10-01

Organ procurement from executed prisoners in China is internationally condemned, yet this practice continues unabated in 2014. This is despite repeated announcements from Chinese authorities that constructive measures have been undertaken to conform to accepted ethical standards. While there is unanimous agreement on the unethical nature of using organs from executed prisoners, due to its limitations on voluntary and informed consent, there is insufficient coverage of forced organ procurement from prisoners of conscience without consent. Strategies to influence positive change in China over the last few decades have failed to bring this practice to an end. While organ donation and transplantation services in China have undergone considerable structural changes in the last few years, fundamental attempts to shift practice to ethically sourced organs have floundered. In this article, we discuss the organ trade in China, reflect upon organ procurement from executed prisoners (including both capital prisoners and prisoners of conscience) and provide an overview of contradictory Chinese efforts to halt forced organ procurement from executed prisoners. Finally, we highlight current actions being taken to address this issue and offer comprehensive recommendations to bring this ethically indefensible practice to an immediate end. © Copyright 2014 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Violent Offenders in a Deaf Prison Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Katrina R.; Vernon, McCay; Capella, Michele E.

2005-01-01

Previous research suggested an unexplained difference in the patterns of offending behaviors among deaf people when compared to hearing people. This study, conducted in Texas, compares the incidence and types of violent offenses of a deaf prison population in comparison to the hearing prison population. Sixty-four percent of deaf prisoners were…

Social and custodial needs of older adults in prison.

PubMed

Hayes, Adrian J; Burns, Alistair; Turnbull, Pauline; Shaw, Jenny J

2013-09-01

older prisoners are a fast-growing group but there is limited evidence for how well their needs are being met. to quantify the social and custodial needs of older prisoners and suggest improvements for service provision. cross-sectional study. twelve prisons holding adult males in North West England. two hundred and sixty-two prisoners; 97 aged between 50 and 59, 165 aged 60 and over. interview and case-note review for issues of social and custodial need and quality of life in prison, including Forensic Camberwell Assessment of Need and Lubben Scale for social networks. many had problems mixing with younger prisoners, accommodation and activities, and limited contact with friends and family. A small group had personal care needs which were not well managed in prison. older prisoners have distinct social and custodial needs which need to be addressed by a national strategy for their care and management.

[Liaison psychiatry in the prison of Rottenburg (Germany)].

PubMed

Schäfer, Gerd; Schubert, Wigbert; Bartels, Mathias; Foerster, Klaus

2004-01-01

The aim of this study was to get an idea of the need of psychiatric therapy in a prison. We report on the period May 2000 to January 2002. 60 medical files with the sociodemographic variables and the psychiatric diagnosis were evaluated. 45 % of the examined prisoners had a diagnosis of drug- or alcohol dependency and 31.3 % had a diagnosis of a schizophrenia. In 26.7 % the therapy was successful and the prisoners improved. This results show a great need of psychiatric therapy in a prison. Also in a prison improvements in the course of psychic disturbances are possible.

[Prisoners as subjects of biomedical research].

PubMed

García Guerrero, Julio

2010-01-01

The medical research with prisoners ever along the History until our age has attacked to physical integrity and prisoners' human rights. We have a perfect evidence about this kind of human rights violation if we have a look sixty years ago to Nazi's concentrations camps. Probably for this reason the international legislations restricts or ban this type of practices. There are, although, some arguments used for it, like the impossibility to decide something inside a context with lack of freedom, improper inducements, coercion and duress. The objective of our work is study if exist any important reason, inside a pure bioethical view, that support the prohibition of using prisoners as subjects in medical research, showing actual fettles of Spanish prisons.

Substance use in remand prisoners: a consecutive case study.

PubMed Central

Mason, D.; Birmingham, L.; Grubin, D.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among newly remanded prisoners, assess the effectiveness of prison reception screening, and examine the clinical management of substance misusers among remand prisoners. DESIGN: A consecutive case study of remand prisoners screened at reception for substance misuse and treatment needs and comparison of findings with those of prison reception screening and treatment provision. SETTING: A large adult male remand prison (Durham). SUBJECTS: 548 men aged 21 and over awaiting trial. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of substance misuse; treatment needs of substance misusers; effectiveness of prison reception screening for substance misuse; provision of detoxification programmes. RESULTS: Before remand 312 (57%) men were using illicit drugs and 181 (33%) met DSM-IV drug misuse or dependence criteria; 177 (32%) men met misuse or dependence criteria for alcohol. 391 (71%) men were judged to require help directed at their drug or alcohol use and 197 (36%) were judged to require a detoxification programme. The prison reception screen identified recent illicit drug use in 131 (24%) of 536 men and problem drinking in 103 (19%). Drug use was more likely to be identified by prison screening if an inmate was using multiple substances, using opiates, or had a diagnosis of abuse or dependence. 47 (9%) of 536 inmates were prescribed treatment to ease the symptoms of substance withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of substance misuse in newly remanded prisoners is high. Prison reception health screening consistently underestimated drug and alcohol use. In many cases in which substance use is identified the quantities and numbers of different substances being used are underestimated. Initial management of inmates identified by prison screening as having problems with dependence producing substances is poor. Few receive a detoxification programme, so that many are left with the option of continuing to use drugs in prison

Licensed physicians who work in prisons: a profile.

PubMed Central

Lichtenstein, R L; Rykwalder, A

1983-01-01

A profile of the personal and professional characteristics of the physicians who work in America's prisons was obtained by analyzing data from a larger study of all licensed physicians in the United States who worked in a prison at least 12 hours a month during the fall of 1979. Psychiatrists were not included, nor were physicians working in jails. The population of 382 prison physicians comprised two major groups--those who worked in prisons full time and those who worked in them part time. Part-time physicians, who represented the majority of physicians involved in prison work (58 percent), were found to resemble closely the typical physician in the United States; they were predominantly trained in America, specialized, and board certified. In contrast, full-time prison physicians, who accounted for 73 percent of the total hours physicians spent working in prisons, differed significantly from the typical U.S. physician. They were older, less specialized, less likely to be board certified, and more likely to be graduates of non-U.S. medical schools. The professional characteristics of the full-time prison physicians raise serious questions about the quality of medical care they are likely to provide. It would seem, based on their professional attributes, that the part-time physicians are able to provide better quality care than their full-time colleagues. Prison health system could thus assure higher quality care to inmates by relying primarily on part-time rather than full-time practitioners. PMID:6419274

Social Work and Prison Labor: A Restorative Model.

PubMed

Sliva, Shannon M; Samimi, Ceema

2018-04-01

The prison industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, fueled largely by prison privatization. UN guidelines and U.S. federal policy outline standards for prison workers, but evidence suggests that protections have been ignored or circumvented. The current prison labor system allows corporations to profit from punishment that is disproportionately allocated to people of color and the poor. This article provides a critical analysis of prison labor policies in the United States and proposes a position for social workers on the ethical and restorative use of inmate labor. This model uses the framework of restorative justice to explore how successful models of social enterprise can benefit inmates and their communities. Meaningful prison enterprises may offer the ability to return resources to communities depleted by crime and incarceration, and to restore inmates to full citizenship.

Prison health service directors' views on research priorities and organizational issues in conducting research in prison: outcomes of a national deliberative roundtable.

PubMed

Simpson, Paul Leslie; Guthrie, Jill; Butler, Tony

2017-06-12

Purpose Given that prisoners have significant health needs across most areas, the paucity of prisoner health research, and the difficulties involved in the conduct of research in this setting, there is a need to develop research priorities that align with key stakeholder groups. One such group are those responsible for health service provision in prisons - prison health service directors. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Prison health service directors in each Australian state and territory were invited to participate in a national (deliberative) roundtable where the consensus building nominal group technique was utilized. This involved the identification of research priorities and organizational issues in conducting research with prisoners, and ranking research priorities. A thematic analysis was conducted on organizational issues. Findings In total, 13 participants attended the roundtable. Participants identified 28 research priorities and 12 organizational issues. Top ranked research priorities were mental health, cognitive and intellectual disability, post-release health maintenance, ageing prisoners, chronic health conditions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Themes identified from the organizational issues included prisoner access to research participation, health and research literacy of custodial staff, and institutional protectionism in response to research that may discover negative information about the custodial setting. Research limitations/implications These findings should inform future efforts to improve research infrastructures to undertake research to improve the health of people in Australian prisons, and help to align researchers' efforts with those of a key organizational stakeholder. Originality/value This is the first paper to determine the research priorities and organizational issues in conducting research in prisons of prison health service directors.

45 CFR 46.306 - Permitted research involving prisoners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Permitted research involving prisoners. 46.306... HUMAN SUBJECTS Additional Protections Pertaining to Biomedical and Behavioral Research Involving Prisoners as Subjects § 46.306 Permitted research involving prisoners. (a) Biomedical or behavioral research...

Gender differences in prison-based drug treatment participation.

PubMed

Belenko, Steven; Houser, Kimberly A

2012-08-01

Prisons inmates have high rates of substance abuse and associated social and health problems, and a concomitant high need for drug treatment while incarcerated. Female inmates have an even greater treatment need, yet most inmates do not participate in treatment while incarcerated. Using data from a nationally representative sample of prison inmates, this article examines the impact of gender on prison treatment participation and gender differences in the factors associated with clinical treatment participation. Females were significantly more likely to participate in prison drug treatment than males, controlling for other factors. For both males and females, severity of drug problems predicted participation in treatment. For males but not females, race was associated with prison treatment participation, and among those with drug abuse or dependence, females with co-occurring mental health problems were more likely to participate in treatment. Implications for prison assessment and treatment policies, and future research, are discussed.

Space for the Prisoner's Point of View.

PubMed

Haupt, Laura

2017-03-01

The lead article in this issue discusses a potentially free metaphorical space-that of decision-making-within the confines, tangible and intangible, of life in jail or prison. By interviewing prisoner-participants from six clinical studies, Paul Christopher and colleagues sought to find out how these men and women would answer open-ended questions about their decision to enroll in the research. What the interviewers heard was that none saw themselves as having been inappropriately pressured to do so. In fact, a significant percentage of the prisoners described being dissuaded from participating in the studies. The authors therefore advise that unfair exploitation poses the more relevant research risk to contemporary prisoners in the United States than does coercion, and they encourage investigations into whether prisoners are unfairly restricted or discouraged from joining clinical studies. Although Keramet Reiter makes no reference to etymology in her commentary responding to the article, her argument suggests that the roots of "coerce"-the Latin for "shut up" or "enclose"-remain relevant. Reiter argues that, under current conditions, the people shut up in prisons in the United States cannot make an unfettered choice to join a clinical trial. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

Psychiatric treatment in prison: a missed opportunity?

PubMed

Smith, S S; Baxter, V J; Humphreys, M S

2003-04-01

National Health Service Executive guidelines require psychiatric services to maintain links with prisoners previously subject to the Care Programme Approach (CPA) and to participate in discharge planning. We are unaware of previous studies assessing the involvement of general psychiatric services with patients in prison or prisoners' perceptions of their needs. Consecutive referrals to a prison psychiatric liaison service over a three-month period were screened for previous psychiatric contact. Half of those interviewed reported previous psychiatric contact. Two-thirds were in contact with services at the time of detention. One-third believed services knew of their imprisonment. Ninety-three per cent believed they would require psychiatric support after release. Few patients received input from general psychiatric services during imprisonment despite a high level of perceived need. Improved liaison would help facilitate both care in prison and discharge planning in the spirit of CPA and the government directive.

Effects of Crowding in Prisons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paulus, Paul B.; And Others

Research on crowding in prisons is reviewed. Studies have shown that crowding in prisons can increase blood pressure, palmar sweat, illness complaints, and aggression. The number of people per housing unit appears to be more important than space per person. Tolerance for crowding was found to decrease with the experience of crowding. Research on…

The School-to-Prison Pipeline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elias, Marilyn

2013-01-01

Policies that encourage police presence at schools, harsh tactics including physical restraint, and automatic punishments that result in suspensions and out-of-class time are huge contributors to the school-to-prison pipeline, but the problem is more complex than that. The school-to-prison pipeline starts (or is best avoided) in the classroom.…

Inmate Movements and Prison Uprisings: A Comparative Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pederson, William D.

1978-01-01

Fifteen "criminal" and political uprisings from inmate movements in American, Soviet, and German prisons are compared. Conditions of deprivation related to prison violence are linked with attitudinal, structural, and temporal factors. Findings are that inmate movements are a rare phenomenon in comparison with isolated prison uprisings. (KC)

Availability of Health-Related Programs in Private and Public Prisons.

PubMed

Baćak, Valerio; Ridgeway, Greg

2018-01-01

Little is known about the resources available to protect inmates' health in private prisons compared to their public counterparts. This is the first national-level study that exclusively examined the availability of health-related programs in private and public prisons in the United States. We applied propensity score weighting and doubly robust estimation to compare private prisons to comparable public prisons. Data were self-reported by prison administrators as part of the 2005 Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities. We found that private prisons offered fewer substance dependency, psychological/psychiatric, and HIV/AIDS-related programs. But the differences were progressively reduced when the comparison was limited to public prisons most similar on a variety of facility-level characteristics. The extent to which the two types of prisons differ is closely tied to the characteristics of the facilities that are compared.

A working theology of prison ministry.

PubMed

Hall, Stephen T

2004-01-01

Drawing upon experiences as a prison chaplain and a state director of prison chaplaincy services, the author proposes a working theology of prison ministry. Such a theology begins with an understanding of the inherent worth of humankind as created by God in God's own image, addresses the question of hope, embodies the incarnate presence of God by being present with people in their alienation, enables the giving and receiving of forgiveness, deals with issues of power and control, and respects the diverse paths that humans take in their walk toward and with God.

Schooling in a Youth Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Morghan Velez; Phillips, Rachel Sophia; Nasir, Na'ilah Suad

2010-01-01

This paper examines schooling inside a youth prison. We draw on interview and observation data from a study of a youth prison school to understand the practices and tensions of schooling in a juvenile incarceration facility. We describe the processes of schooling in the facility with an eye towards understanding both the conditions of learning and…

Reducing the use of seclusion for mental disorder in a prison: implementing a high support unit in a prison using participant action research

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Vulnerable prisoners and mentally disordered offenders who present with risk of harm to self or others were accommodated in Special Observation Cells (SOCs) isolated from others for considerable periods of time. This practice has been criticised by the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture. The objective of this initiative was to reduce the use of seclusion within the prison and to improve the care of vulnerable and mentally ill prisoners within the prison. Results The prison studied is a committal centre for sentenced prisoners with an official bed capacity of 630. The forensic mental health in-reach team, in co-operation with the prison health service followed the 'spiral' of planning, action and fact finding about the results of the action. In December 2010 a 10 bed High Support Unit (HSU) was established within the prison. During the first year, 96 prisoners were admitted. A third (35%) reported psychotic symptoms, 28% were referred due to the immediate risk of self-harm, 17% were accommodated for medical treatments and increased observation, 13% received specialised treatment by the Addiction Psychiatry team, 6% presented with emotional distress. One prisoner was accommodated on the HSU due to the acute risk he posed to others. A major mental illness was diagnosed in 29%, 20% required short-term increased support for crisis intervention and were found not to have a mental illness. A further 10% were deemed to be feigning symptoms of mental illness to seek refuge in the HSU. 7% had personality disorder as their primary diagnosis and 4% had a learning disability. Stratifying risk within the prison population through the provision of the HSU decreased the total episodes of seclusion in the prison by 59% (p < 0.001) in addition to providing a more effective psychiatric in-reach service to the prison. Pathways between the prison and the forensic psychiatric hospital saw no change in activity but improved continuity of care

"Signs of honor" among Russian inmates in Israel's prisons.

PubMed

Shoham, Efrat

2010-12-01

The unique nature of Israeli society as an immigrant society has also affected the prison population in Israel. This article focuses on a social and cultural phenomenon that particularly characterizes the prisoners of Russian origin, the phenomenon of tattoos. Using postmodernist theories, the article examines the function of the tattoo among Russian prisoners and the role it plays in constructing the criminal self-identity of these inmates in Israeli prisons. The tattoos observed during 2005-2006 among the Russian prisoners in four major Israeli prisons reflect the values of the Russian criminal subculture from which they evolved and were imported. This subculture is characterized by a hierarchical class structure and manifestations of machismo, domination, defiance, rebellion, and open antagonism against the Establishment and its representatives.

My Mother Didn't Raise Me to End Up in Prison.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hack, Ken

1989-01-01

From personal experiences teaching in a prison, suggests how the topic of prisons can be included in social studies instruction. Ideas include learning about prison terminology, recidivism, and student attitudes concerning prisons. Lists resources to aid in teaching a unit on prisons. (CH)

28 CFR 501.1 - Bureau of Prisons emergencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Bureau of Prisons emergencies. 501.1 Section 501.1 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.1 Bureau of Prisons emergencies. (a) Suspension of rules during an emergency...

28 CFR 501.1 - Bureau of Prisons emergencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Bureau of Prisons emergencies. 501.1 Section 501.1 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.1 Bureau of Prisons emergencies. (a) Suspension of rules during an emergency...

28 CFR 501.1 - Bureau of Prisons emergencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Bureau of Prisons emergencies. 501.1 Section 501.1 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.1 Bureau of Prisons emergencies. (a) Suspension of rules during an emergency...

28 CFR 501.1 - Bureau of Prisons emergencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Bureau of Prisons emergencies. 501.1 Section 501.1 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.1 Bureau of Prisons emergencies. (a) Suspension of rules during an emergency...

28 CFR 501.1 - Bureau of Prisons emergencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Bureau of Prisons emergencies. 501.1 Section 501.1 Judicial Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION SCOPE OF RULES § 501.1 Bureau of Prisons emergencies. (a) Suspension of rules during an emergency...

Paternal Incarceration and the Housing Security of Urban Mothers

PubMed Central

Geller, Amanda; Franklin, Allyson Walker

2014-01-01

High rates of imprisonment among American fathers have motivated an ongoing examination of incarceration’s role in family life. A growing literature suggests that incarceration creates material and socioemotional challenges not only for prisoners and former prisoners but also for their families and communities. The authors examined the relationship between fathers’ incarceration and one such challenge: the housing insecurity of the mothers of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,125) and a series of longitudinal regression models, they found that mothers’ housing security was compromised following their partners’ incarceration, an association likely driven in part, but not entirely, by financial challenges following his time in prison or jail. Given the importance of stable housing for the continuity of adult employment, children’s schooling, and other inputs to healthy child development, the findings suggest a grave threat to the well-being of children with incarcerated fathers. PMID:26336324

What Does the Implementation of Peer Care Training in a U.K. Prison Reveal About Prisoner Engagement in Peer Caregiving?

PubMed

Stewart, Warren

The number of aging and chronically ill prisoners continues to rise within the United Kingdom prison demography; consequentially, many institutions face health and social care crises of immense proportions. The needs of this group are both complex and costly, and in the United Kingdom, this is set to a backdrop of overcrowding, increasing violence, and public spending cuts in line with government austerity targets. In this context, the development of prisoner peer caregiving is proposed as an approach to mitigating the effects of aging, disability, and illness. A qualitative study was implemented to design, deliver, and evaluate a peer care training intervention within a U.K. prison. The perceptions of six prisoner peer caregivers are represented in this article. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified challenges experienced by peer caregivers in practice as well as recommended practical solutions. The social processes underpinning prisoner peer caregiving are discussed, including individual and organizational impediments to the fulfillment of their role. Practice theory, social learning theory, and criminological sensitivities were used as theoretical lenses to analyze the findings.

Determining intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) in inmates from Kajang Prison, Selangor, Malaysia for improved prison management.

PubMed

Angal, Lorainne; Mahmud, Rohela; Samin, Sajideh; Yap, Nan-Jiun; Ngui, Romano; Amir, Amirah; Ithoi, Init; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Lim, Yvonne A L

2015-10-29

The prison management in Malaysia is proactively seeking to improve the health status of the prison inmates. Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are widely distributed throughout the world and are still gaining great concern due to their significant morbidity and mortality among infected humans. In Malaysia, there is a paucity of information on IPIs among prison inmates. In order to further enhance the current health strategies employed, the present study aims to establish firm data on the prevalence and diversity of IPIs among HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected individuals in a prison, an area in which informed knowledge is still very limited. Samples were subjected to microscopy examination and serological test (only for Strongyloides). Speciation for parasites on microscopy-positive samples and seropositive samples for Strongyloides were further determined via polymerase chain reaction. SPSS was used for statistical analysis. A total of 294 stool and blood samples each were successfully collected, involving 131 HIV positive and 163 HIV negative adult male inmates whose age ranged from 21 to 69-years-old. Overall prevalence showed 26.5% was positive for various IPIs. The IPIs detected included Blastocystis sp., Strongyloides stercoralis, Entamoeba spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and Trichuris trichiura. Comparatively, the rate of IPIs was slightly higher among the HIV positive inmates (27.5%) than HIV negative inmates (25.8%). Interestingly, seropositivity for S. stercoralis was more predominant in HIV negative inmates (10.4%) compared to HIV-infected inmates (6.9%), however these findings were not statistically significant. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed the presence of Blastocystis, Strongyloides, Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar. These data will enable the health care providers and prison management staff to understand the trend and epidemiological situations in HIV/parasitic co-infections in a prison. This information will further

Prevalence of skin diseases in female prisoners in Turkey: analysis of impact of prison conditions and psychological stress.

PubMed

Kocatürk, Emek; Kocatürk, Asiye; Kavala, Mukaddes

2014-01-01

Prisons have been studied as communal places where risk of contagious diseases and dermatological diseases associated with stress are more frequent. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of skin diseases in female prisoners with special focus on psychological stress. We held a day-time dermatology polyclinic for 6-weeks. The patients were given Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a questionnaire on the psychological impact of skin disease. A total of 383 female prisoners were examined; 41 dermatological diseases were diagnosed. Acne was the most prevalent condition (34%), followed by hair loss (19%), dry skin (16%), and eczema (12%). Thirty-six percent of the prisoners felt embarrassed, 34% felt anxious, and 45% felt sad about their skin disease. Fourty seven of the responders were found to be in severe depression according to BDI responses. We could not find any association between BDI results and any kind of skin disease diagnosed in inmates. Our study demonstrates that prisoners have benign and common skin conditions similar to those in the general population.

Opt-out HIV testing in prison: Informed and voluntary?

PubMed Central

Rosen, David L.; Golin, Carol E.; Grodensky, Catherine A.; May, Jeannine; Bowling, J. Michael; DeVellis, Robert F.; White, Becky L.; Wohl, David A.

2014-01-01

HIV testing in prison settings has been identified as an important mechanism to detect cases among high-risk, underserved populations. Several public health organizations recommend that testing across healthcare settings, including prisons, be delivered in an opt-out manner. However, implementation of opt-out testing within prisons may pose challenges in delivering testing that is informed and understood to be voluntary. In a large state prison system with a policy of voluntary opt-out HIV testing, we randomly sampled adult prisoners in each of seven intake prisons within two weeks after their opportunity to be HIV tested. We surveyed prisoners’ perception of HIV testing as voluntary or mandatory and used multivariable statistical models to identify factors associated with their perception. We also linked survey responses to lab records to determine if prisoners’ test status (tested or not) matched their desired and perceived test status. Thirty eight percent (359/936) perceived testing as voluntary. The perception that testing was mandatory was positively associated with age less than 25 years (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.71) and preference that testing be mandatory (aRR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.31), but negatively associated with entry into one of the intake prisons (aRR: 0.41 95% CI: 0.27, 0.63). Eighty-nine percent of prisoners wanted to be tested, 85% were tested according to their wishes, and 82% correctly understood whether or not they were tested. Most prisoners wanted to be HIV tested and were aware that they had been tested, but less than 40% understood testing to be voluntary. Prisoners’ understanding of the voluntary nature of testing varied by intake prison and by a few individual-level factors. Testing procedures should ensure that opt-out testing is informed and understood to be voluntary by prisoners and other vulnerable populations. PMID:25506799

Skin infections and infestations in prison inmates.

PubMed

Oninla, Olumayowa A; Onayemi, Olaniyi

2012-02-01

Skin infections and infestations are common in a prison environment. The prison is in dynamic equilibrium with the larger society. Hence, it serves as a reservoir of infections which can spread to the larger society. The study sets out to find out how rampant these infections might be in the prison and the factors responsible. Inmates at a Nigerian prison in Ilesha, Osun State, were examined for skin infections. Personal hygiene and living conditions were critically examined. The overall prevalent rate of infectious dermatoses was 49.2% (150/305). There were 178 infections. Dermatophytes accounted for 64%, pityriasis versicolor 27%, bacterial infections 3.4%, and others 5.6%. Only frequency of soap use and accommodation arrangement significantly contributed to the overall prevalence. However, infectious dermatoses were significantly affected by prison status (PP = 0.04), frequency of bath (PP = 0.025), changing of clothing (PP = 0.05), accommodation arrangement (P = 0.0001), frequency of soap usage (P = 0.005), and toilet facility (P = 0.001). The HIV status of the inmates was unknown. Hence, effect of HIV infection cannot be ascertained. Skin infections and infestations are common in prison. A change in living conditions and personal hygiene will definitely help in reducing these infections. © 2012 The International Society of Dermatology.

Influence of environmental factors on mental health within prisons: focus group study.

PubMed

Nurse, Jo; Woodcock, Paul; Ormsby, Jim

2003-08-30

To increase understanding of how the prison environment influences the mental health of prisoners and prison staff. Qualitative study with focus groups. A local prison in southern England. Prisoners and prison staff. Prisoners reported that long periods of isolation with little mental stimulus contributed to poor mental health and led to intense feelings of anger, frustration, and anxiety. Prisoners said they misused drugs to relieve the long hours of tedium. Most focus groups identified negative relationships between staff and prisoners as an important issue affecting stress levels of staff and prisoners. Staff groups described a "circle of stress," whereby the prison culture, organisation, and staff shortages caused high staff stress levels, resulting in staff sickness, which in turn caused greater stress for remaining staff. Staff shortages also affected prisoners, who would be locked up for longer periods of time, the ensuing frustration would then be released on staff, aggravating the situation still further. Insufficient staff also affected control and monitoring of bullying and reduced the amount of time in which prisoners were able to maintain contact with their families. Greater consideration should be given to understanding the wider environmental and organisational factors that contribute to poor mental health in prisons. This information can be used to inform prison policy makers and managers, and the primary care trusts who are beginning to work in partnership with prisons to improve the mental health of prisoners.

45 CFR 506.11 - “Prisoner of war” defined.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... OF THE WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1948, AS AMENDED ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPENSATION Prisoners of War § 506.11 “Prisoner of war” defined. Prisoner of war means any regularly appointed, enrolled, enlisted or...

Procedural justice and prisoners' mental health problems: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Beijersbergen, Karin A; Dirkzwager, Anja J E; Eichelsheim, Veroni I; van der Laan, Peter H; Nieuwbeerta, Paul

2014-04-01

Given the high prevalence of mental health problems among prisoners, knowledge on its determinants is important. Prior cross-sectional studies suggest that procedurally just treatment within prison is a significant predictor; however, longitudinal research is lacking. The aims of this study were to examine (1) the longitudinal relationship between prisoners' perceptions of procedural justice--including fairness, respect, humanity and relationships with officers--and their mental health and (2) the moderating role of coping style in this relationship. Data were obtained from the Prison Project, a longitudinal study of adult male prisoners in the Netherlands, interviewed both 3 weeks and 3 months after their reception into pre-trial detention (N = 824). A cross-lagged structural equation model was employed to investigate associations. Prisoners who reported experiencing a higher level of procedural justice 3 weeks after their arrival in custody reported fewer mental health problems after 3 months. No evidence was found that coping style moderated this relationship. These findings suggest a causal relationship between procedural justice and psychological well-being. Fair and respectful treatment of prisoners is a predictor not only of prison order and prisoners' compliance but also of prisoners' psychological well-being. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prevalence of mental disorder in remand prisoners: consecutive case study.

PubMed Central

Birmingham, L.; Mason, D.; Grubin, D.

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To define the prevalence of mental disorder and need for psychiatric treatment in new remand prisoners and to determine to what extent these are recognised and addressed in prison. DESIGN: Study of consecutive male remand prisoners at reception using a semistructured psychiatric interview. SETTING: Large remand prison for men (HMP Durham). SUBJECTS: 669 men aged 21 years and over on remand, awaiting trial. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of mental disorder at reception, prisoners need for psychiatric treatment, identification of mental disorder by prison reception screening, and numbers placed appropriately in the prison hospital. RESULTS: 148 (26%) men had one or more current mental disorders (excluding substance misuse) including 24 who were acutely psychotic. The prison reception screening identified 34 of the men with mental disorder and six of those with acute psychosis. 168 men required psychiatric treatment, 50 of whom required urgent intervention; 16 required immediate transfer to psychiatric hospital. Of these 50, 17 were placed on the hospital wing because of mental disorder recognised at prison screening. CONCLUSION: Not only is the prevalence of mental disorder, in particular severe mental illness, high in this population, but the numbers identified at reception are low and subsequent management in prison is poor. PMID:8978227

28 CFR 0.98 - Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Prison Industries. 0.98 Section 0.98 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Bureau of Prisons § 0.98 Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons is authorized as ex officio Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries and...

28 CFR 0.98 - Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Prison Industries. 0.98 Section 0.98 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Bureau of Prisons § 0.98 Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons is authorized as ex officio Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries and...

28 CFR 0.98 - Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Prison Industries. 0.98 Section 0.98 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Bureau of Prisons § 0.98 Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons is authorized as ex officio Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries and...

28 CFR 0.98 - Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Prison Industries. 0.98 Section 0.98 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Bureau of Prisons § 0.98 Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons is authorized as ex officio Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries and...

28 CFR 0.98 - Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Prison Industries. 0.98 Section 0.98 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Bureau of Prisons § 0.98 Functions of Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries. The Director of the Bureau of Prisons is authorized as ex officio Commissioner of Federal Prison Industries and...

Methadone maintenance treatment program in prisons from the perspective of medical and non-medical prison staff: a qualitative study in Iran

PubMed Central

Moradi, Ghobad; Farnia, Marzieh; Shokoohi, Mostafa; Shahbazi, Mohammad; Moazen, Babak; Rahmani, Khaled

2015-01-01

Background: As one of the most important components of harm reduction strategy for high-risk groups, following the HIV epidemics, Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) has been initiated in prisoners since 2003. In this paper, we aimed to assess the advantages and shortcomings of the MMT program from the perspective of people who were involved with the delivery of prison healthcare in Iran. Methods: On the basis of grounded theory and through conducting 14 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 7 FGDs among physicians, consultants, experts, and 7 FGDs among directors and managers of prisons (n= 140) have been performed. The respondents were asked about positive and negative elements of the MMT program in Iranian prisons. Results: This study included a total of 48 themes, of which 22 themes were related to advantages and the other 26 were about shortcomings of MMT programs in the prisons. According to participants’ views "reduction of illegal drug use and high-risk injection", "reduction of potentially high-risk behaviors" and "making positive attitudes" were the main advantages of MMT in prisons, while issues such as "inaccurate implementation", "lack of skilled manpower" and "poor care after release from prison" were among the main shortcomings of MMT program. Conclusions: MMT program in Iran’s prisons has achieved remarkable success in the field of harm reduction, but to obtain much more significant results, its shortcomings and weaknesses must be also taken into account by policy-makers. PMID:26340487

Education and Criminal Justice: The Educational Approach to Prison Administration. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morin, Lucien; Cosman, J. W.

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners do not express the basic principle that would support a serious educational approach to prison administration. The crucial missing rationale is the concept of the inherent dignity of the individual human prisoner. This concept has certain basic educational implications,…

Health promotion and young prisoners: a European perspective.

PubMed

MacDonald, Morag; Rabiee, Fatemeh; Weilandt, Caren

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to assess the health promotion needs of vulnerable young prisoners and the existing health promotion activities in custodial settings in seven European Union (EU) Member States. The research comprised two components: the first involved identifying existing health promotion practices. The second involved mapping out young offenders' health promotion needs by carrying out a needs assessment. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted. The quantitative element comprised surveys among young prisoners and prison staff and focused on the availability and perceived importance of health promotion activities in prison. The qualitative element comprised focus groups with young offenders and individual interviews with prison staff, field experts and NGO members. The findings from the research have identified a number of similar, but also some diverse areas of unmet need for health promotion activities in prison settings across these diverse seven EU countries. There is no consistency of approach within and between countries regarding health promotion policy, guidance, resources and programmes for young prisoners. In order to improve the health of young prisoners and to establish and increase sustainability of existing health promotion programmes, there is a need for the establishment of National and EU standards. Providing health promotion activities for young prisoners while in custodial settings is key to addressing their unmet health and well-being needs and to facilitate their reintegration back into the community. Despite the barriers identified by this research, health promotion is to some extent being delivered in the partner countries and provides a foundation upon which further implementation of health promotion activities can be built especially when the benefits of health promotion activities, like dealing with the common problems of alcohol and drug addiction, mental health and communicable diseases are linked to successful

The development of participatory health research among incarcerated women in a Canadian prison

PubMed Central

Murphy, K.; Hanson, D.; Hemingway, C.; Ramsden, V.; Buxton, J.; Granger-Brown, A.; Condello, L-L.; Buchanan, M.; Espinoza-Magana, N.; Edworthy, G.; Hislop, T. G.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the development of a unique prison participatory research project, in which incarcerated women formed a research team, the research activities and the lessons learned. The participatory action research project was conducted in the main short sentence minimum/medium security women's prison located in a Western Canadian province. An ethnographic multi-method approach was used for data collection and analysis. Quantitative data was collected by surveys and analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was collected from orientation package entries, audio recordings, and written archives of research team discussions, forums and debriefings, and presentations. These data and ethnographic observations were transcribed and analysed using iterative and interpretative qualitative methods and NVivo 7 software. Up to 15 women worked each day as prison research team members; a total of 190 women participated at some time in the project between November 2005 and August 2007. Incarcerated women peer researchers developed the research processes including opportunities for them to develop leadership and technical skills. Through these processes, including data collection and analysis, nine health goals emerged. Lessons learned from the research processes were confirmed by the common themes that emerged from thematic analysis of the research activity data. Incarceration provides a unique opportunity for engagement of women as expert partners alongside academic researchers and primary care workers in participatory research processes to improve their health. PMID:25759141

X-ray BodySearch eliminates strip search in Montana prison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Moulpied, David S.; Rothschild, Peter J.; Smith, Gerald J.

1998-12-01

Work release details at prisons have been a continuing source of inspection problems for prison wardens. At the Montana State Prison in deer Lodge 400 prisoners leave the prison in the morning to work outside the walls. They return at lunch and again in the evening. Past practice has been to do a 100% pat search and selective strip searches. These procedures are an irritant to both prisoners and prison personnel involved. However, they were felt to be essential based on the quantity of contraband materials being brought into the prison by these work release inmates. BodySearch is an x-ray scanning system which uses backscatter x-ray to form an image of prisoners as they stand next to the system. Typically prisoners are scanned two at a time, with one scan being taken from the back and the second from the front. Although privacy was considered to be an issue, the prisoners have been relived not to have to go through full pat searches and periodic strip searches. The automatic equipment has also sped up the inspection process and eliminated some of the waiting lines. The problem was so bad that one warden was contemplating having all prisoners issued two sets of clothing (a several hundred thousand dollar investment), which they would change on the way in and out of the prison facility. The new system has all but eliminated any attempt by prisoners to smuggle contraband into the prison by concealing it on their person as they return from work detail. Operationally, a pencil beam is generated by a rotating chopper, which scans horizontally as it is moved vertically. Scintillator detectors mounted adjacent and parallel to the direction of the scanning beam collect the scattered radiation. The result is a photo-like image of the body surface facing the system. The use of a scanning pencil beam in a backscatter geometry with a 140 kV x-ray source eliminates any issue of radiation safety. In fact, the dose delivered by the system (under 10 micro rem for a two

Prison nursing and its training.

PubMed

Sánchez-Roig, M; Coll-Cámara, A

2016-12-01

The main task of nurses is to take care of sick and healthy people and evaluate changes in their health conditions. The goal is to take the appropriate measures to help their recovery or guarantee a dignified death, and if possible, help them regain autonomy and independence. Nursing is present in different areas: primary health, mental health, accident and emergencies, intensive and coronary care, surgical care, paediatrics, geriatrics, public health, occupational health, teaching, etc. In our case, prison nursing, one of the least known branches of the profession, we wanted to investigate more deeply the work of nurses in prisons, which aspect of health care they are responsible for and to what type of population they are geared towards, as well as the necessary training to be able to work in such a particular environment. To conclude, we have seen that university degrees in general nursing do not include knowledge in this area, and that authors from different countries support the specialization of prison nursing and the need for nurses to be trained according to the health conditions of inmates and the characteristics of prisons.

Mental health in-reach in an urban UK remand prison.

PubMed

Forrester, Andrew; Singh, Jagmohan; Slade, Karen; Exworthy, Tim; Sen, Piyal

2014-01-01

Prison mental health in-reach teams (MHITs) have developed in England and Wales over the last decade. Services have been nationally reviewed, but detailed descriptions of their work have been scarce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the functions of one MHIT in a busy, ethnically diverse, male remand prison in London, UK. Clinical and demographic data were collected for prisoners referred to the MHIT using a retrospective design over an 18-week period in 2008/2009 (n=111). Foreign national prisoners and sentenced prisoners were significantly under-referred. Most referrals were already known to community mental health services, although around a quarter accessed services for the first time in prison. Around a third presented with self-harm/suicide risks. Substance misuse problems were common. Although the MHIT had evolved systems to promote service access, prisoner self-referrals were limited. Foreign national prisoners require enhanced investment to improve service access. MHITs identify people with mental disorders for the first time in prisons, but better screening arrangements are needed across systems. An evaluation of multiple MHIT models could inform a wider delivery template. Originality/value - One of the first ground-level evaluations of MHITs in England and Wales.

What motivates dentists to work in prisons? A qualitative exploration.

PubMed

Smith, P A; Themessl-Huber, M; Akbar, T; Richards, D; Freeman, R

2011-08-26

To explore what motivates dentists to work in prisons using Vroom's theoretical model of motivation as an explanatory framework. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten of the 15 dentists working in Scottish prisons. The focus was to explore their motivations to work in Scottish prisons. The data were analysed using a thematic framework based on the three motivational dimensions of expectancy, instrumentality and valence. The dentists had the skills to help improve their prisoner-patients' oral health but their efforts were often hindered by institutional rationing and the requirement to fit in with prison routines and procedures (expectancy). Despite these institutional difficulties the dentists experienced work rewards associated with the improvement in the prisoners' oral health (instrumentality). Finally, the dentists experienced a feeling of personal worth and a sense of commitment to providing care to Scottish prisoners (valence). The dentists' motivation to work in Scottish prisons may be explained by Vroom's Expectancy Theory. The dentists' motivation is characterised by their beliefs that their work will improve clinical outcomes which will be rewarded by the satisfaction experienced when they overcome environmental obstacles and provide oral health care for their prisoner-patients.

Indonesian prisons and HIV: part of the problem, part of the solution?

PubMed

Nelwan, Erni Juwita; Diana, Aly; van Crevel, Reinout; Alam, Nisaa Nur; Alisjahbana, Bachti; Pohan, Herdiman T; van der Ven, Andre; Djaya, Ilham

2009-07-01

Around the world, HIV-prevalence rates among prisoners are high compared to the general population. This is due to overrepresentation of injecting drug users (IDUs) in prison and possible HIV-transmission inside prison. Limited health services in penitentiary institutes, stigma, policy issues, and budgetary constraints may hamper delivery of appropriate services for HIV in prison. Prisons may, on the other hand, enable the access to a high risk population for HIV-prevention and -care. IDUs are namely hard to reach outside prisons, while in prison targeted interventions for IDUs can be used repeatedly and economically. Also, harm reduction and HIV-treatment can be supervised and monitored carefully. This paper reviews HIV-prevention and care in prison, and describes the experience in one particular prison in West Java, Indonesia. Based on the literature and local experience, one can conclude that effective and widespread HIV-testing and treatment can be established in prisons if there is commitment from prison authorities, endorsement of services by prison staff and inmates, and collaboration with health care providers from outside prison. Essential components of HIV-services in prison include appropriate health care services, a suitable environment for HIV-counseling and -testing and tailored services for injecting drug use. By partner counseling and linking HIV-services in prison with continued care afterwards, prisons may contribute significantly to HIV-control in the general population, especially in settings where HIV is often due to injecting drug use.

Tuberculosis control in prisons: current situation and research gaps.

PubMed

Dara, Masoud; Acosta, Colleen D; Melchers, Natalie V S Vinkeles; Al-Darraji, Haider A A; Chorgoliani, Dato; Reyes, Hernan; Centis, Rosella; Sotgiu, Giovanni; D'Ambrosio, Lia; Chadha, Sarabjit S; Migliori, Giovanni Battista

2015-03-01

Tuberculosis (TB) in penitentiary services (prisons) is a major challenge to TB control. This review article describes the challenges that prison systems encounter in TB control and provides solutions for the more efficient use of limited resources based on the three pillars of the post-2015 End TB Strategy. This paper also proposes research priorities for TB control in prisons based on current challenges. Articles (published up to 2011) included in a recent systematic review on TB control in prisons were further reviewed. In addition, relevant articles in English (published 1990 to May 2014) were identified by searching keywords in PubMed and Google Scholar. Article bibliographies and conference abstracts were also hand-searched. Despite being a serious cause of morbidity and mortality among incarcerated populations, many prison systems encounter a variety of challenges that hinder TB control. These include, but are not limited to, insufficient laboratory capacity and diagnostic tools, interrupted supply of medicines, weak integration between civilian and prison TB services, inadequate infection control measures, and low policy priority for prison healthcare. Governmental commitment, partnerships, and sustained financing are needed in order to facilitate improvements in TB control in prisons, which will translate to the wider community. Copyright © 2015 World Health Organization. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

"To Inform Their Discretion": Prison Education and Empowerment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duguid, Stephen

1988-01-01

Makes three arguments about prison education and its potential role in shaping the lives of students: (1) many criminals and most prisoners are different in some fundamental ways from their citizen peers; (2) education does not necessarily lead to change in behavior; and (3) prison education can have an impact on knowing, writing, and doing. (JOW)

The Horror of Being Deaf and in Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, McCay

2010-01-01

Being deaf and in prison is a horror. The main fear of prison inmates, whether Deaf or hearing, is that they will be raped, killed, or subjected to other forms of violence. Such fears are based in reality. The recent overcrowding of jails and prisons has increased these problems significantly. A major reason for this situation is the blatant…

Health-promoting prisons: theory to practice.

PubMed

Baybutt, Michelle; Chemlal, Khadoudja

2016-03-01

As a setting, prisons offer a unique opportunity to invest in the health of disadvantaged and marginalised populations and address health inequalities and social exclusion - thereby achieving sustainable improvements in well-being for offenders and their families and in turn, helping to reduce rates of re-offending. This article draws on English and French experiences and doctoral research to advocate a shift from a pathogenic model towards a salutogenic model of health as a helpful way to address inequalities and thus, by promoting joined-up working across justice and wider systems, impact positively beyond 'health' for the effective resettlement of prisoners. The paper utilises examples from horticulture to further argue the powerful role of nature in the prison setting in mediating aspects of culture particularly relating to processes of socialisation. Critical success lies in bridging across systems and a commitment to joined-up working at all levels across and beyond prison. © The Author(s) 2015.

[Risk behaviours and Chlamydia trachomatis prevalence in prisoners by length of stay in prison].

PubMed

Lopez-Corbeto, Evelin; Humet, Victoria; Leal, M Jesús; Teixidó, Nuria; Quiroga, Teresa; Casabona, Jordi

2014-11-18

Young prisoners have high-risk behaviors and socio-economic insecurity that increases vulnerability for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) acquisition. Monitoring its prevalence will help to reduce infection rates. Cross-sectional study from a convenience sample of prisoners aged 18-25 years. Urine samples were obtained to determine CT. A standardized and anonymous questionnaire was used to collect the study variables. The overall CT prevalence was 11%, significantly higher in those with less than one year in prison, who also presented higher frequencies in risk behaviors, while these were reduced in those who had been imprisoned for more than a year. The prevalence values obtained give an idea of the concentration of the population vulnerable to this disease in prisons and underscore the need to continue programs for the prevention and control of sexual transmitted infections (STIs). Being imprisoned longer decreased risk behaviors; therefore, it is important to screen for STIs upon admission because they are more likely to be infected and it would be thus possible to influence at that time in sex education because, at that time, risk behaviors occur more commonly, which are most likely done when they were free. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Economic Impacts of Prison Growth

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-13

allow collective bargaining for public sector correctional workers, proposals to alter rules for the 2010 Census count, and rural development efforts...number of rural areas have chosen to tie their economies to prisons, viewing the institutions as recession-proof development engines. Though many local...correctional authorities. 80 Beale, Calvin L., “ Rural Prisons: An Update”, Rural Development Perspectives, vol. 11, no. 2, March 2001, p. 25. http

Evaluation of a Screening Instrument for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Prisoners

PubMed Central

Robinson, Louise; Spencer, Michael D.; Thomson, Lindsay D. G.; Stanfield, Andrew C.; Owens, David G. C.; Hall, Jeremy; Johnstone, Eve C.

2012-01-01

There have been concerns that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are over-represented but not recognised in prison populations. A screening tool for ASDs in prisons has therefore been developed. Aims We aimed to evaluate this tool in Scottish prisoners by comparing scores with standard measures of autistic traits (Autism Quotient (AQ)), neurodevelopmental history (Asperger Syndrome (and High-Functioning Autism) Diagnostic Interview (ASDI)), and social cognition (Ekman 60 Faces test). Methods Prison officers across all 12 publicly-run closed prisons in Scotland assessed convicted prisoners using the screening tool. This sample included male and female prisoners and both adult and young offenders. Prisoners with high scores, along with an equal number of age and sex-matched controls, were invited to take part in interviews. Prisoners' relatives were contacted to complete a neurodevelopmental assessment. Results 2458 prisoners were screened using the tool, and 4% scored above the cut-off. 126 prisoners were further assessed using standardised measures. 7 of those 126 assessed scored 32 or above (cut-off) on the AQ. 44 interviews were completed with prisoners' relatives, no prisoner reached the cut-off score on the ASDI. Scores on the screening tool correlated significantly with AQ and ASDI scores, and not with the Ekman 60 Faces Test or IQ. Sensitivity was 28.6% and specificity 75.6%; AUC was 59.6%. Conclusions Although this screening tool measures autistic traits in this population, sensitivity for scores of 32 or above on the AQ is poor. We consider that this limits its usefulness and do not recommend that the tool is routinely used to screen for ASDs in prisons. PMID:22662113

Medical Support to Failed States: Start with the Prisons

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-11

treatment to prisoners are the list of former prisoners turned national leaders. Perhaps most well known is Nelson Mandela , the former president of...South African who served 14 years in Robben Island prison. In addition to Mandela there is Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil, a prisoner for five...http://www.unodc.org/documents/hiv- aids/Toolkit%20ADVANCE%20COPY%20NOV%202007%20WEB.pdf (accessed January 29, 2011). 36 “ Mandela appeals for ex

Can theory predict the process of suicide on entry to prison? Predicting dynamic risk factors for suicide ideation in a high-risk prison population.

PubMed

Slade, Karen; Edelman, Robert

2014-01-01

Each year approximately 110,000 people are imprisoned in England and Wales and new prisoners remain one of the highest risk groups for suicide across the world. The reduction of suicide in prisoners remains difficult as assessments and interventions tend to rely on static risk factors with few theoretical or integrated models yet evaluated. To identify the dynamic factors that contribute to suicide ideation in this population based on Williams and Pollock's (2001) Cry of Pain (CoP) model. New arrivals (N = 198) into prison were asked to complete measures derived from the CoP model plus clinical and prison-specific factors. It was hypothesized that the factors of the CoP model would be predictive of suicide ideation. Support was provided for the defeat and entrapment aspects of the CoP model with previous self-harm, repeated times in prison, and suicide-permissive cognitions also key in predicting suicide ideation for prisoners on entry to prison. An integrated and dynamic model was developed that has utility in predicting suicide in early-stage prisoners. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed along with recommendations for future research.

Implementing methadone maintenance treatment in prisons in Malaysia

PubMed Central

Wickersham, Jeffrey A; Marcus, Ruthanne; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Zahari, Muhammad Muhsin

2013-01-01

Abstract Problem In Malaysia, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is highly concentrated among people who inject opioids. For this reason, the country undertook a three-phase roll-out of a methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programme. In Phase 3, described in this paper, MMT was implemented within prisons and retention in care was assessed. Approach After developing standard operating procedures and agreement between its Prisons Department and Ministry of Health, Malaysia established pilot MMT programmes in two prisons in the states of Kelantan (2008) and Selangor (2009) – those with the highest proportions of HIV-infected prisoners. Community-based MMT programmes were also established in Malaysia to integrate treatment activities after prisoners’ release. Local setting Having failed to reduce the incidence of HIV infection, in 2005 Malaysia embarked on a harm reduction strategy. Relevant changes Standard operating procedures were modified to: (i) escalate the dose of methadone more slowly; (ii) provide ongoing education and training for medical and correctional staff and inmates; (iii) increase the duration of methadone treatment before releasing prisoners; (iv) reinforce linkages with community MMT programmes after prisoners’ release; (v) screen for and treat tuberculosis; (vi) escalate the dose of methadone during treatment for HIV infection and tuberculosis; and (vii) optimize the daily oral dose of methadone (> 80 mg) before releasing prisoners. Lessons learnt Prison-based MMT programmes can be effectively implemented but require adequate dosing and measures are needed to improve communication between prison and police authorities, prevent police harassment of MMT clients after their release, and improve systems for tracking release dates. PMID:23554524

Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahena, Sofía, Ed.; Cooc, North, Ed.; Currie-Rubin, Rachel, Ed.; Kuttner, Paul, Ed.; Ng, Monica, Ed.

2012-01-01

A trenchant and wide-ranging look at this alarming national trend, "Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline" is unsparing in its account of the problem while pointing in the direction of meaningful and much-needed reforms. The "school-to-prison pipeline" has received much attention in the education world over the past few…

Anna's Story of Life in Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boodle, Anna; Ellem, Kathy; Chenoweth, Lesley

2014-01-01

People with an intellectual disability in prison can be at increased risk of victimisation, segregation and isolation (Mullen ). Prison systems usually have very few resources to cater to this group's particular needs, and many people may re-enter the community with little or no rehabilitation, poor social connections, poor mental health and…

The Prisoner's Dilemma: Introducing Game Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Doug J.; Miller, Catherine M.

2015-01-01

Since 1950, the Prisoner's Dilemma has intrigued economists and amused fans of mathematics. It presents a situation in which two players acting to their own advantage do not do as well together as two players whose actions oppose their individual interests--hence, the dilemma. Variations of the Prisoner's Dilemma have appeared in diverse…

Declaration of Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cosman, J. W.

1989-01-01

Education does not flourish in prisons because of prevailing notions about the punitive and retributive purposes of prisons. The United Nations is considering a Declaration of Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners that is intended to bring education to the forefront of criminal justice policy. (SK)

[Prevalence and predictors of psychoactive substance use among men in prisons].

PubMed

Caravaca-Sánchez, Francisco; Falcón Romero, María; Luna, Aurelio

2015-01-01

The use of psychoactive substances among the prison population is an important public health issue because of its magnitude and health consequences. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychoactive substance use among the prison population and to analyse its association with sociodemographic and penitentiary factors, particularly the size of the prison. Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire among 2,484 random male inmates in eight prisons of different sizes in Spain. The prevalence of psychoactive substance use with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) during the last 6 months in prison were estimated. Prevalence ratios were used to estimate the association between psychoactive substance use and sociodemographic and penitentiary characteristics. The prevalence of psychoactive substance use in the past 6 months in prison was 59.9% (95% CI: 57.9-62.0). Notable among the sociodemographic variables associated with substance use were drug consumption prior to imprisonment (6.90; 95% CI: 5.51-8.65) and recidivism in prison (2.41; 95% CI: 2.04-2.85). The largest prisons showed a higher frequency of drug use than other prisons. A high prevalence of psychoactive substance use was found in prisons and significant differences were found according to delinquent profile and the size of the prison. Copyright © 2015 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Mental disorders in Italian prisoners: results of the REDiMe study.

PubMed

Macciò, Annalisa; Meloni, Francesca Romana; Sisti, Davide; Rocchi, Marco Bruno Luigi; Petretto, Donatella Rita; Masala, Carmelo; Preti, Antonio

2015-02-28

The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence of current and lifetime mental disorders in a consecutive sample (n=300) of detainees and prison inmates held in an Italian prison and compare it with the prevalence observed in a sample randomized from the community (n=300) within the same age interval (18-55 years) and sex proportion of prisoners, and with a similar socio-economic status. Psychiatric disorders were identified with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Current psychiatric disorders were present in 58.7% of prisoners and 8.7% of the comparison group. Lifetime psychiatric disorders were present in 88.7% of prisoners and 15.7% of the comparison group. Current anxiety disorders and current stress-related disorders were related to prisoners serving their first-ever prison sentence. A variable fraction of prisoners with an ongoing psychopathology is not diagnosed or does not receive proper treatment. The provision of effective treatment to prisoners with psychiatric disorders might have potentially substantial public health benefits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger in Turkish prisoners.

PubMed

Unver, Yener; Yuce, Mehmet; Bayram, Nuran; Bilgel, Nazan

2013-09-01

In Turkey, prison studies are rare and the mental health status of prisoners has not received proper attention. The purpose of this cross-sectional and descriptive study was to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger among a group of Turkish prisoners. Two self-reporting instruments (the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 and Multidimensional Anger Scale) were filled out by 685 prisoners. Prisoners in the study group were found to be depressive, anxious, and stressed. Anger symptoms and aggressive behaviors were found to be at a moderate level. Prisoners with a history of being subjected to domestic violence in childhood had higher depression, anxiety, and stress scores than those without such a history. Young prisoners, those who had been previously imprisoned, with substance dependency and higher stress and anxiety levels reported more anger symptoms than others. Psychological support, together with stress and anger management programs, seems to be essential. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Guards in Prisons: A Risk Group for Latent Tuberculosis Infection.

PubMed

Arroyave, Luisa; Keynan, Yoav; Sanchez, Deny; López, Lucelly; Marin, Diana; Posada, Maryluz; Rueda, Zulma Vanessa

2018-05-04

To determine the prevalence and incidence of LTBI among prison guards and to the risk factors associated with infection. Two male prisons in Medellín and Itaguí, Colombia. A cohort study was conducted in adult prison guards that consented to participate. Exclusion criteria included: previous or current active TB, or conditions that preclude TST administration. We screened 194 guards and completed 155 TST administrations. The prevalence of LTBI was 55.8% in prison one, and 39.1% in prison two. The risk factors associated with LTBI diagnosis included drug use at least once in a lifetime (PR: 1.75; 95% CI 1.42-2.15) and male sex (PR: 2.16; 95% CI 1.01-4.62). The cumulative incidence of TST conversion over 6 months was 3.2%. All conversions occurred in prison 1. Our findings suggest an occupational risk for LTBI prevalence and incidence among guards (different prevalence and incidence according to the prison they work).

Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Prisoners.

PubMed

Baranyi, Gergõ; Cassidy, Megan; Fazel, Seena; Priebe, Stefan; Mundt, Adrian P

2018-06-01

People involved with criminal justice frequently are exposed to violence and traumatic experiences. This may lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, no review, to our knowledge, has synthetized findings in this setting. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate prevalence rates of PTSD in prison populations. Original studies in which prevalence rates of PTSD in unselected samples of incarcerated people were reported were systematically searched between 1980 and June 2017. Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis, and sources of heterogeneity for prespecified characteristics were assessed by meta-regression. We identified 56 samples comprising 21,099 imprisoned men and women from 20 countries. Point prevalence of PTSD ranged from 0.1% to 27% for male, and from 12% to 38% for female prisoner populations. The random-effects pooled point prevalence was 6.2% (95% confidence interval: 3.9, 9.0) in male prisoners and 21.1% (95% confidence interval: 16.9, 25.6) in female prisoners. The heterogeneity between the included studies was very high. Higher prevalence was reported in samples of female prisoners, smaller studies (n < 100), and for investigations based in high-income countries. Existing evidence shows high levels of PTSD among imprisoned people, especially women. Psychosocial interventions to prevent violence, especially against children and women, and to mitigate its consequences in marginalized communities must be improved. Trauma-informed approaches for correctional programs and scalable PTSD treatments in prisons require further consideration.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Preventive Practices among Prison Inmates in Ogbomoso Prison at Oyo State, South West Nigeria

PubMed Central

Saliu, Abdulsalam; Akintunde, Babatunde

2014-01-01

Prisoners are at special risk for infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) because of overcrowded prisons, unprotected sex and sexual assault, occurrence of sexual practices that are risky to health, unsafe injecting practices, and inadequate HIV prevention, care, and support services. This study aimed to describe the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards HIV/AIDS by male inmates in Ogbomoso Prison at Oyo State, South West Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study. A simple random sampling method was employed to select 167 male participants and data were collected using pretested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data were collated and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17. Fifty (29.9%) were in the age group 20–24 years with mean age of 30.99 ± 11.41. About half (50.3%) had been married before incarceration. Family and friends (30%), health care workers (25%), prison staff (20%), and mass media (25%) were the commonest sources of information on HIV/AIDS. Knowledge about HIV was found to be high (94.6%). About 68.9% believed that people with the disease should be avoided. The knowledge about HIV/AIDS among inmates was high, but misconceptions about HIV/AIDS are still rife among the prisoners and educational programs would be required to correct this. PMID:25763397

Bringing a Lemon to a Lifer: Tutoring in Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Mich

2009-01-01

This prison-based research is grounded upon "reflection-in-action", intertwining the accounts of a reflective prisoner and a reflective practitioner. Through use of ethnographic methods it seeks to make sense of the contradictions encountered while tutoring prisoners. The research story shows how meaning conflicts have been negotiated,…

Adapting Animal-Assisted Therapy Trials to Prison-Based Animal Programs.

PubMed

Allison, Molly; Ramaswamy, Megha

2016-09-01

Prison-based animal programs have shown promise when it comes to increased sociability, responsibility, and levels of patience for inmates who participate in these programs. Yet there remains a dearth of scientific research that demonstrates the impact of prison-based animal programs on inmates' physical and mental health. Trials of animal-assisted therapy interventions, a form of human-animal interaction therapy most often used with populations affected by depression/anxiety, mental illness, and trauma, may provide models of how prison-based animal program research can have widespread implementation in jail and prison settings, whose populations have high rates of mental health problems. This paper reviews the components of prison-based animal programs most commonly practiced in prisons today, presents five animal-assisted therapy case studies, evaluates them based on their adaptability to prison-based animal programs, and discusses the institutional constraints that act as barriers for rigorous prison-based animal program research implementation. This paper can serve to inform the development of a research approach to animal-assisted therapy that nurses and other public health researchers can use in working with correctional populations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Testing the School-to-Prison Pipeline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Emily G.

2017-01-01

The School-to-Prison Pipeline is a social phenomenon where students become formally involved with the criminal justice system as a result of school policies that use law enforcement, rather than discipline, to address behavioral problems. A potentially important part of the School-to-Prison Pipeline is the use of sworn School Resource Officers…

[Overcrowding in prisons and its impact on health].

PubMed

García-Guerrero, J; Marco, A

2012-02-01

Overcrowding in prisons is a common problem that affects many countries. It is difficult to define this term because there is no single internationally accepted standard. However, this is a situation that must be counteracted, because people's behaviour can be affected to the extent that it leads to self-harm or violent behaviour to others. But prison overcrowding also has other effects on the health and well being of the people living in these conditions and may also adversely affect public health and the prison system. It can increase the prevalence of diseases, particularly infectious and psychiatric disorders. It may also hinder the work of social rehabilitation and lead to inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment. This paper reviews the scant literature about overcrowding in prisons. Increasing awareness about the issue in the international community and prison administrations and above all, assigning specific economic resources, are key elements in preventing this deficit in social welfare and health care.

The perceived employability of ex-prisoners and offenders.

PubMed

Graffam, Joseph; Shinkfield, Alison J; Hardcastle, Lesley

2008-12-01

A large-scale study was conducted to examine the perceived employability of ex-prisoners and offenders. Four participant groups comprising 596 (50.4%) employers, 234 (19.8%) employment service workers, 176 (14.9%) corrections workers, and 175 (14.8%) prisoners and offenders completed a questionnaire assessing the likelihood of a hypothetical job seeker's both obtaining and maintaining employment; the importance of specific skills and characteristics to employability; and the likelihood that ex-prisoners, offenders, and the general workforce exhibit these skills and characteristics. Apart from people with an intellectual or psychiatric disability, those with a criminal background were rated as being less likely than other disadvantaged groups to obtain and maintain employment. In addition, ex-prisoners were rated as being less likely than offenders and the general workforce to exhibit the skills and characteristics relevant to employability. Implications for the preparation and support of ex-prisoners and offenders into employment are discussed, together with broader community-wide initiatives to promote reintegration.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Methadone Maintenance for Prisoners: Prediction of Treatment Entry and Completion in Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Michael S.; Kinlock, Timothy W.; Couvillion, Kathryn A.; Schwartz, Robert P.; O'Grady, Kevin

2012-01-01

The present report is an intent-to-treat analysis involving secondary data drawn from the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated methadone in the United States. This study examined predictors of treatment entry and completion in prison. A sample of 211 adult male prerelease inmates with preincarceration heroin dependence were randomly…

Developing the mental health awareness of prison staff in England and Wales.

PubMed

Walsh, Elizabeth; Freshwater, Dawn

2009-10-01

In 2010, the prison population in England and Wales could reach a high of 91,500, according to a recent population projection. HM Prison Service (U.K.) reports that in 2004 to 2005, there were 33,144 prison officers employed to care for the prisoners in the prison system. This article focuses on the mental health of this prisoner population and the training needs of staff caring for them. It reports the experience of a national project, funded by the Department of Health, in which the project team developed and piloted mental health awareness training for prison officers on the residential units and for staff who work with prisoners and lack a mental health background. Key findings from the posttraining evaluation are highlighted. Participant feedback demonstrates the value placed on this type of training by those working in the prison setting.

UK news media representations of smoking, smoking policies and tobacco bans in prisons.

PubMed

Robinson, Amy; Sweeting, Helen; Hunt, Kate

2018-02-19

Prisoner smoking rates remain high, resulting in secondhand smoke exposures for prison staff and non-smoker prisoners. Several jurisdictions have introduced prison smoking bans with little evidence of resulting disorder. Successful implementation of such bans requires staff support. As news media representations of health and other issues shape public views and as prison smoking bans are being introduced in the UK, we conducted content analysis of UK news media to explore representations of smoking in prisons and smoke-free prisons. We searched 64 national and local newspapers and 5 broadcast media published over 17 months during 2015-2016, and conducted thematic analysis of relevant coverage in 106 articles/broadcasts. Coverage was relatively infrequent and lacked in-depth engagement with the issues. It tended to reinforce a negative view of prisoners, avoid explicit concern for prisoner or prison staff health and largely ignore the health gains of smoke-free policies. Most coverage failed to discuss appropriate responses or support for cessation in the prison context, or factors associated with high prisoner smoking rates. Half the articles/broadcasts included coverage suggesting smoke-free prisons might lead to unrest or instability. Negative news media representations of prisoners and prison smoking bans may impact key stakeholders' views (eg, prison staff, policy-makers) on the introduction of smoke-free prison policies. Policy-makers' communications when engaging in discussion around smoke-free prison policies should draw on the generally smooth transitions to smoke-free prisons to date, and on evidence on health benefits of smoke-free environments and smoking cessation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

HOW THE U.S. PRISON BOOM HAS CHANGED THE AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRISON POPULATION*

PubMed Central

PORTER, LAUREN C.; BUSHWAY, SHAWN D.; TSAO, HUI-SHIEN; SMITH, HERBERT L.

2017-01-01

This article provides a demographic exposition of the changes in the U.S prison population during the period of mass incarceration that began in the late twentieth century. By drawing on data from the Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (1974–2004) for inmates 17–72 years of age (N = 336), we show that the age distribution shifted upward dramatically: Only 16 percent of the state prison population was 40 years old or older in 1974; by 2004, this percentage had doubled to 33 percent with the median age of prisoners rising from 27 to 34 years old. By using an estimable function approach, we find that the change in the age distribution of the prison population is primarily a cohort effect that is driven by the “enhanced” penal careers of the cohorts who hit young adulthood—the prime age of both crime and incarceration—when substance use was at its peak. Period-specific factors (e.g., proclivity for punishment and incidence of offense) do matter, but they seem to play out more across the life cycles of persons most affected in young adulthood (cohort effects) than across all age groups at one point in time (period effects). PMID:28936228

Dentition status and treatment needs of prisoners of Haryana state, India.

PubMed

Bansal, Vikram; Sogi, G M; Veeresha, K L; Kumar, Adarsh; Bansal, Shelly

2012-01-01

This paper aims to explore prisoner dental health in Haryana, India. The authors assessed the prevalence of dental caries and the treatment needs of prisoners in all 19 prisons in Haryana. The results were compared with the prison populations of other countries and the general population of Haryana. The mean age of 1,393 subjects examined was 35.26±12.29 years. A large number of the subjects reported to be in need of dental treatment. The number of decayed teeth was found to be similar to the general population of Haryana but the number of filled teeth was quite low. The number of teeth missing and the need for tooth extraction was high. Social implications - Long-standing prisoner dental problems indicated a need for dental treatment in prisons. This is the first study of its kind covering all 19 prisons in Haryana, India. The results indicate that the government needs to further consider and address the oral health needs of prisoners.

United States Security Assistance 1977-1980: Human Rights Issues Affecting Arms Transfers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-09-01

police attempted to break up the gathering, the crowd became enraged and proceeded to destroy a number of banks, cinemas , and hotels (Brown:296...According to Carter’s National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, the Peruvian government released over 300 prisoners in April 1977; "disappearances

Coping Strategies in Young Male Prisoners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohino, Susana; Kirchner, Teresa; Forns, Maria

2004-01-01

The general aim of this study is to analyze diverse aspects relating to the use of coping strategies among prison inmates. The specific objectives are (a) to analyze which type of coping strategies predominate among prisoners, considering both the focus and the method; (b) to relate the use of coping strategies with variables related to the prison…

The Nature and Prevalence of Learning Deficiencies among Adult Inmates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bell, Raymond; And Others

In order to determine the nature and prevalence of learning deficiencies among adult inmates in U.S. correctional institutions, a sample of subjects was drawn from three institutions in each of the states of Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington. One male maximum security, one male medium security, and one women's prison were selected in each of…

"People don't understand what goes on in here": A consensual qualitative research analysis of inmate-caregiver perspectives on prison-based end-of-life care.

PubMed

Depner, Rachel M; Grant, Pei C; Byrwa, David J; Breier, Jennifer M; Lodi-Smith, Jennifer; Luczkiewicz, Debra L; Kerr, Christopher W

2018-05-01

The age demographic of the incarcerated is quickly shifting from young to old. Correctional facilities are responsible for navigating inmate access to healthcare; currently, there is no standardization for access to end-of-life care. There is growing research support for prison-based end-of-life care programs that incorporate inmate peer caregivers as a way to meet the needs of the elderly and dying who are incarcerated. This project aims to (a) describe a prison-based end-of-life program utilizing inmate peer caregivers, (b) identify inmate-caregiver motivations for participation, and (c) analyze the role of building trust and meaningful relationships within the correctional end-of-life care setting. A total of 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with inmate-caregivers. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research methodology. All inmate-caregivers currently participating in the end-of-life peer care program at Briarcliff Correctional Facility were given the opportunity to participate. All participants were male, over the age of 18, and also incarcerated at Briarcliff Correctional Facility, a maximum security, state-level correctional facility. In total, five over-arching and distinct domains emerged; this manuscript focuses on the following three: (a) program description, (b) motivation, and (c) connections with others. Findings suggest that inmate-caregivers believe they provide a unique and necessary adaptation to prison-based end-of-life care resulting in multilevel benefits. These additional perceived benefits go beyond a marginalized group gaining access to patient-centered end-of-life care and include potential inmate-caregiver rehabilitation, correctional medical staff feeling supported, and correctional facilities meeting end-of-life care mandates. Additional research is imperative to work toward greater standardization of and access to end-of-life care for the incarcerated.

Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline/Building Abolition Futures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meiners, Erica R.

2011-01-01

Placing prison abolition on the horizon for scholars committed to interrupting the flow of young people toward prisons and jails, this article offers movement analysis, frameworks and associated questions surrounding advocacy and engagement. First, I offer a brief state of the field of research and advocacy surrounding school-to-prison work.…

Harm reduction measures and injecting inside prison versus mandatory drugs testing: results of a cross sectional anonymous questionnaire survey. The European Commission Network on HIV Infection and Hepatitis in Prison.

PubMed Central

Bird, A. G.; Gore, S. M.; Hutchinson, S. J.; Lewis, S. C.; Cameron, S.; Burns, S.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVES: (a) To determine both the frequency of injecting inside prison and use of sterilising tablets to clean needles in the previous four weeks; (b) to assess the efficiency of random mandatory drugs testing at detecting prisoners who inject heroin inside prison; (c) to determine the percentage of prisoners who had been offered vaccination against hepatitis B. DESIGN: Cross sectional willing anonymous salivary HIV surveillance linked to a self completion risk factor questionnaire. SETTING: Lowmoss prison, Glasgow, and Aberdeen prison on 11 and 30 October 1996. SUBJECTS: 293 (94%) of all 312 inmates at Lowmoss and 146 (93%) of all 157 at Aberdeen, resulting in 286 and 143 valid questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency of injecting inside prison in the previous four weeks by injector inmates who had been in prison for at least four weeks. RESULTS: 116 (41%) Lowmoss and 53 (37%) Aberdeen prisoners had a history of injecting drug use but only 4% of inmates (17/395; 95% confidence interval 2% to 6%) had ever been offered vaccination against hepatitis B. 42 Lowmoss prisoners (estimated 207 injections and 258 uses of sterilising tablets) and 31 Aberdeen prisoners (229 injections, 221 uses) had injected inside prison in the previous four weeks. The prisons together held 112 injector inmates who had been in prison for more than four weeks, of whom 57 (51%; 42% to 60%) had injected in prison in the past four weeks; their estimated mean number of injections was 6.0 (SD 5.7). Prisoners injecting heroin six times in four weeks will test positive in random mandatory drugs testing on at most 18 days out of 28. CONCLUSIONS: Sterilising tablets and hepatitis B vaccination should be offered to all prisoners. Random mandatory drugs testing seriously underestimates injector inmates' harm reduction needs. PMID:9233321

[The long road for psychiatric care in prisons].

PubMed

Laurencin, Gérard

2016-01-01

From the 19th century to the present day, the history of psychiatry in prisons has evolved considerably. In parallel with successive laws, codes and articles, psychiatry has gained in structure. From the "medical prison", mental health consultations in every detention centre, the regional medico-psychological services, to today's specially equipped hospital units (UHSA), prisoners receive both preventive care as well as curative treatment. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Hepatitis C in Australian prisons: a national needs assessment.

PubMed

Mina, Michael Mokhlis; Herawati, Lilie; Butler, Tony; Lloyd, Andrew

2016-01-01

Hepatitis C (HCV) infections are prevalent in custodial settings worldwide, yet provision of antiviral therapies is uncommon. Approximately 30,000 prisoners are held in Australian prisons at any one time, with more than 30 per cent testing positive for HCV antibodies. Prisoners have been identified in the National Hepatitis C Strategy as a priority population for assessment and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the rates of HCV testing and treatment, as well as barriers and opportunities for development of infrastructure for enhanced services. Interviews were conducted with 55 stakeholders from the correctional sector in each state and territory in Australia in two stages: service directors to gather quantitative data regarding rates of testing and treatment; and other stakeholders for qualitative information regarding barriers and opportunities. Of more than 50,000 individuals put in in custody in Australian prisons in 2013, approximately 8,000 individuals were HCV antibody positive, yet only 313 prisoners received antiviral treatment. The barriers identified to assessment and treatment at the prisoner-level included: fear of side effects and the stigma of being identified to custodial authorities as HCV infected and a likely injecting drug user. Prisoners who came forward may be considered unsuitable for treatment because of prevalent mental health problems and ongoing injecting drug use. Provision of specialist hepatitis nurses and consultants were the most frequently recommended approaches to how prison hepatitis services could be improved. Many personal and systems-level barriers relevant to the delivery of HCV treatment services in the custodial setting were identified. Ready access to skilled nursing and medical staff as well as direct acting antiviral therapies will allow the prison-sector to make a major contribution to control of the growing burden of HCV disease.

Selective Ethics and Integrity: Moral Development and Prison Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duguid, Stephen

1986-01-01

A case exists for there being a moral dimension to prison education and a case against moral education programs in prison. The argument is made that prisoners are one part of a large group of citizens who suffer from uneven development in the cognitive and moral realms due to biographical and structural factors. (Author/CT)

A prevalence survey for smear-positive tuberculosis in Thai prisons.

PubMed

Jittimanee, S X; Ngamtrairai, N; White, M C; Jittimanee, S

2007-05-01

Twenty-seven prisons in Thailand. To measure the prevalence of smear-positive tuberculosis (TB) and to compare its detection using the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for prisons or the International Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ISTC) criteria. Prisoners who were not on TB medications and who had not been treated for TB in the previous 6 months were enrolled in the survey. Prison nurses conducted a one-time mass screening using the WHO questionnaire, with follow-up sputum collection in TB suspects. Of 71594 prisoners, 22132 (30.9%) were identified as TB suspects, and 254 were confirmed by sputum smear, for a prevalence of 354.8/100000. Males were most likely to be diagnosed with TB disease (OR 2.6), as were those transferring in from another prison versus new prisoners (OR 3.0). The positive predictive value of the WHO criteria was 1.2%, and that of the ISTC standard was 5.9%. TB prevalence in this survey remained high. WHO guidelines, recognised as a standard, require health workers to question prisoners and measure height and weight. The ISTC standard, a single question about cough >or=2 weeks, is simple, may be asked by non-health personnel and may be a better alternative.

Second-Generation Prisoners and the Transmission of Domestic Violence.

PubMed

Will, Joanna L; Loper, Ann B; Jackson, Shelly L

2016-01-01

Adult inmates who experienced the incarceration of a parent, known as "second-generation prisoners," experience unique challenges and are at heightened risk for experiencing other adversities throughout the life span. Our study investigated one specific, and previously unexplored, type of adversity--domestic violence--within a sample of 293 incarcerated adults. We examined the relation between generation status (first- or second-generation prisoners), childhood exposure to domestic violence, and participation in adult relationship violence prior to incarceration. Results indicate that prisoners who had been exposed to domestic violence in childhood were more likely to engage in intimate partner violence resulting in inflicted and received injury. Relative to first-generation prisoners, second-generation prisoners reported more childhood domestic violence exposure and were more likely to have been injured by a relationship partner. However, this relation between second-generation status and injury victimization was mediated by domestic violence exposure. These results support an intergenerational pattern of domestic violence and suggest that second-generation prisoners are a unique population worthy of future investigation and mental health intervention. © The Author(s) 2014.

The practice of positive criminology: a Vipassana course in prison.

PubMed

Ronel, Natti; Frid, Noa; Timor, Uri

2013-02-01

Positive criminology is a new term for a perspective associated with theories and models that relate to socially inclusive, positively experienced influences that assist individuals in desisting or refraining from criminal and deviant behavior. A qualitative phenomenological study of prisoners who were in recovery from substance dependency and who participated in a Vipassana course in a rehabilitative prison introduces features of positive criminology. A total of 22 male prisoners participated in a 10-day Vipassana course run by volunteers in prison. Deep interviews were conducted with participants before, immediately after, and 3 to 4 months after the course. The findings describe components of positive criminology that had meaningful impact on the prisoners in rehabilitation: perceived goodness, positive relationship with the prison staff, positive social atmosphere, and overcoming an ordeal. Implications for practice and further research are outlined.

Latent tuberculosis infection in a Malaysian prison: implications for a comprehensive integrated control program in prisons

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Prisons continue to fuel tuberculosis (TB) epidemics particularly in settings where access to TB screening and prevention services is limited. Malaysia is a middle-income country with a relatively high incarceration rate of 138 per 100,000 population. Despite national TB incidence rate remaining unchanged over the past ten years, data about TB in prisons and its contribution to the overall national rates does not exist. This survey was conducted to address the prevalence of latent TB infection (LTBI) in Malaysia’s largest prison. Methods From July to December 2010, all HIV-infected and a comparative group of HIV-uninfected prisoners housed separately in Kajang prison were asked to participate in the survey after explaining the study protocol. Subjects providing informed consent were interviewed using a structured questionnaire followed by the placement of tuberculin skin test (TST) with 2 TU of PPD RT-23 to subjects not being treated for active TB. TST was read after 48-72 hours and indurations of ≥ 5 mm and ≥ 10 mm were considered positive among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected subjects, respectively. Additionally, HIV-infected inmates underwent phlebotomy for CD4 lymphocyte count assessment. A logistic regression model was explored to determine factors associated with TST positivity. Results Overall, 286 subjects (138 HIV-infected and 148 HIV-uninfected) had complete data and TST results. The majority were men (95.1%), less than 40 years old (median age 36.0, SD 7.87), and Malaysians (93.3%). Most (82.5%) had been previously incarcerated and more than half (53.1%) reported sharing needles just prior to their incarceration. TST was positive in 88.8% (84.7% among HIV-infected and 92.5% among HIV-uninfected subjects) and was independently associated with being HIV-uninfected (AOR = 2.97, p = 0.01) and with frequent previous incarcerations (AOR = 1.22 for every one previous incarceration, p = 0.01) after adjusting for other

Latent tuberculosis infection in a Malaysian prison: implications for a comprehensive integrated control program in prisons.

PubMed

Al-Darraji, Haider Abdulrazzaq Abed; Kamarulzaman, Adeeba; Altice, Frederick L

2014-01-10

Prisons continue to fuel tuberculosis (TB) epidemics particularly in settings where access to TB screening and prevention services is limited. Malaysia is a middle-income country with a relatively high incarceration rate of 138 per 100,000 population. Despite national TB incidence rate remaining unchanged over the past ten years, data about TB in prisons and its contribution to the overall national rates does not exist. This survey was conducted to address the prevalence of latent TB infection (LTBI) in Malaysia's largest prison. From July to December 2010, all HIV-infected and a comparative group of HIV-uninfected prisoners housed separately in Kajang prison were asked to participate in the survey after explaining the study protocol. Subjects providing informed consent were interviewed using a structured questionnaire followed by the placement of tuberculin skin test (TST) with 2 TU of PPD RT-23 to subjects not being treated for active TB. TST was read after 48-72 hours and indurations of ≥ 5 mm and ≥ 10 mm were considered positive among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected subjects, respectively. Additionally, HIV-infected inmates underwent phlebotomy for CD4 lymphocyte count assessment. A logistic regression model was explored to determine factors associated with TST positivity. Overall, 286 subjects (138 HIV-infected and 148 HIV-uninfected) had complete data and TST results. The majority were men (95.1%), less than 40 years old (median age 36.0, SD 7.87), and Malaysians (93.3%). Most (82.5%) had been previously incarcerated and more than half (53.1%) reported sharing needles just prior to their incarceration. TST was positive in 88.8% (84.7% among HIV-infected and 92.5% among HIV-uninfected subjects) and was independently associated with being HIV-uninfected (AOR = 2.97, p = 0.01) and with frequent previous incarcerations (AOR = 1.22 for every one previous incarceration, p = 0.01) after adjusting for other potential confounding factors

Captive Students: Education and Training in America's Prisons. Policy Information Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton, Paul E.; Coley, Richard J.

The United States has a history of vacillating between rehabilitation and punishment for prisoners. The current mood is to devote resources to building more prisons and to strengthen law enforcement and sentencing policies. Within the last 15 years, the U.S. prison population has tripled, with minority groups being overrepresented in prisons.…

28 CFR 2.68 - Prisoners transferred pursuant to treaty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... and periods and conditions of supervised release extends until the transferee is released from prison... under 18 U.S.C. 4106A(b)(1)(A) is a prison release determination and does not represent the imposition... Prisons as if it were the full term date of a sentence for the purpose of establishing a release date...

28 CFR 2.68 - Prisoners transferred pursuant to treaty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... and periods and conditions of supervised release extends until the transferee is released from prison... under 18 U.S.C. 4106A(b)(1)(A) is a prison release determination and does not represent the imposition... Prisons as if it were the full term date of a sentence for the purpose of establishing a release date...

28 CFR 2.68 - Prisoners transferred pursuant to treaty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... and periods and conditions of supervised release extends until the transferee is released from prison... under 18 U.S.C. 4106A(b)(1)(A) is a prison release determination and does not represent the imposition... Prisons as if it were the full term date of a sentence for the purpose of establishing a release date...

28 CFR 2.68 - Prisoners transferred pursuant to treaty.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... and periods and conditions of supervised release extends until the transferee is released from prison... under 18 U.S.C. 4106A(b)(1)(A) is a prison release determination and does not represent the imposition... Prisons as if it were the full term date of a sentence for the purpose of establishing a release date...

Random mandatory drugs testing of prisoners: a biassed means of gathering information.

PubMed

Gore, S M; Bird, A G; Strang, J S

1999-01-01

Our objective was to develop and test a methodology for inferring the percentage of prisoners currently using opiates from the percentage of prisoners testing positive for opiates in random mandatory drugs testing (rMDT). The study used results from Willing Anonymous Salivary HIV (WASH) studies (1994-6) in six adult Scottish prisons, and surveys (1994-5 and 1997) in 14 prisons in England and Wales. For Scottish prisons, the percentage of prisoners currently using opiates was determined by assuming, with varying empirical support, that: current users of opiates in prison were 1.5 times as many as current inside-injectors; and current inside-injectors were 0.75 times as many as ever injectors in prison. We also assumed that current inside-users' frequency of use of opiates (by any route) was equal to the frequency of inside-injecting by current inside-injectors in Aberdeen and Lowmoss Prisons in 1996, namely six times in 4 weeks. We assumed that some scheduling of heroin-use prior to weekends takes place, so that only 50% of current inside-users of opiates would test positive for opiates in rMDT: these assumptions allow us to arrive at WASH-based expectations for the total percentage of prisoners testing positive for opiates in rMDT. For England and Wales, a multiplier of 118/68 was applied which was derived from prisoners' interviews, to convert the results from ever inside-injectors, as determined by WASH studies, to the percentage of current inside users of opiates. We made the same assumptions on frequency of inside-use of opiates as in dealing with the Scottish results. We expected 202.7 opiate positive results in April to September 1997 in rMDTs at six adult prisons in Scotland, 226 were observed. We expected 227.0 at a set of 13 adult prisons and one other in England and Wales; 211 were observed. Further testing of the methodology for prisons in England and Wales will be possible when 1997 WASH data are released. So far, the methodology has performed well

Symptoms and treatment of mental illness among prisoners: a study of Michigan state prisons.

PubMed

Fries, Brant E; Schmorrow, Angela; Lang, Sylvia W; Margolis, Philip M; Heany, Julia; Brown, Greg P; Barbaree, Howard E; Hirdes, John P

2013-01-01

This study reports on a representative sample of prisoners in Michigan correctional facilities to determine the prevalence of psychiatric illness and the delivery of mental health (MH) services. Mental health assessments were conducted with 618 incarcerated subjects using the interRAI Correctional Facilities (interRAI CF). Subjects were randomly sampled based on four strata: males in the general population, males in administrative segregation, males in special units, and females. The interRAI CF assessments were merged with secondary data provided by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) containing information on MH diagnoses or services that the subjects were receiving within the facilities, demographics, and sentencing. Study results show that 20.1% of men and 24.8% of women in Michigan prisons have a substantial level of MH symptoms and that 16.5% and 28.9%, respectively, are receiving MH services. However, when compared with Michigan Department of Corrections MH care records, 65.0% of prisoners who are experiencing symptoms of mental illness are not currently receiving any psychiatric services. The mis-match between symptoms and service delivery suggests the need for improved procedures for identifying and measuring psychiatric symptoms within Michigan correctional facilities to ensure that appropriate individuals receive needed care. It is recommended that a standardized assessment process be implemented and conducted at regular intervals for targeting and improving psychiatric care in the prison system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Hunger striking in prisons: ethics and the ethical and legal aspects].

PubMed

García-Guerrero, J

2013-01-01

Hunger strike is a common form of protest in prisons and is a potential cause of many types of problems, both for the prison administration and the doctors who care for prisoners who participate in one. Issues of conflict of rights and obligations involved, and how to treat people who are subject to the Administration, which in this case takes the position of guarantor, have created major controversies over doctrine. Conscientious objection and the conflict of dual loyalty of doctors working in prisons are also issues closely linked to a prison hunger strike. In this paper we review the solution given to the problem of treatment of a prison hunger strike from three perspectives: ethics, ethical and legal.

Prisoners co-infected with tuberculosis and HIV: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Edge, Chantal L; King, Emma J; Dolan, Kate; McKee, Martin

2016-01-01

Introduction Almost from the beginning of the HIV epidemic in 1981, an association with tuberculosis (TB) was recognized. This association between HIV and TB co-infection has been particularly evident amongst prisoners. However, despite this, few studies of TB in prisons have stratified results by HIV status. Given the high prevalence of HIV-positive persons and TB-infected persons in prisons and the documented risk of TB in those infected with HIV, it is of interest to determine how co-infection varies amongst prison populations worldwide. For this reason we have undertaken a systematic review of studies of co-infected prisoners to determine the incidence and/or prevalence of HIV/TB co-infection in prisons, as well as outcomes in this group, measured as treatment success or death. Methods A literature search was undertaken using the online databases PubMed, Embase, IBSS, Scopus, Web of Science, Global Health and CINAHL Plus. No restrictions were set on language or publication date for article retrieval, with articles included if indexed up to 18 October 2015. A total of 1975 non-duplicate papers were identified. For treatment and outcome data all eligible papers were appraised for inclusion; for incidence/prevalence estimates papers published prior to 2000 were excluded from full text review. After full text appraisal, 46 papers were selected for inclusion in the review, 41 for incidence/prevalence estimates and nine for outcomes data, with four papers providing evidence for both outcomes and prevalence/incidence. Results Very few studies estimated the incidence of TB in HIV positive prisoners, with most simply reporting prevalence of co-infection. Co-infection is rarely explicitly measured, with studies simply reporting HIV status in prisoners with TB, or a cross-sectional survey of TB prevalence amongst prisoners with HIV. Estimates of co-infection prevalence ranged from 2.4 to 73.1% and relative risks for one, given the other, ranged from 2.0 to 10.75, although

Specialized Prisons and Services: Results From a National Survey

PubMed Central

Cropsey, Karen L.; Wexler, Harry K.; Melnick, Gerald; Taxman, Faye S.; Young, Douglas W.

2008-01-01

Findings from the National Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices survey are examined to describe types of services provided by three types of prisons: those that serve a cross-section of offenders, those that specialize in serving offenders with special psychosocial and medical needs, and those that specialize in serving legal status or gender specific populations. Information is presented on the prevalence and type of specialized prisons and services provided to offenders as reported by wardens and other facility directors drawn from a nationally representative sample of prisons. Additional analyses explore organizational factors that differentiate prisons that serve specialized populations including staffing, training, other resources, leadership, and climate for change and innovation. Implications for expanding and improving services for special populations in correctional settings and the values of specialized prisons are discussed. PMID:18443650

Hepatitis C in European prisons: a call for an evidence-informed response

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Globally, over 10 million people are held in prisons and other places of detention at any given time. People who inject drugs (PWID) comprise 10-48% of male and 30-60% of female prisoners. The spread of hepatitis C in prisons is clearly driven by injection drug use, with many infected prisoners unaware of their infection status. Risk behaviour for acquisition of hepatitis C via common use of injecting equipment is widespread in many prison settings. In custodial settings, effective and efficient prevention models applied in the community are very rarely implemented. Only approximately 60 out of more than 10,000 prisons worldwide provide needle exchange. Thus, HCV prevention is almost exclusively limited to verbal advice, leaflets and other measures directed to cognitive behavioural change. Although the outcome of HCV antiviral treatment is comparable to non-substance users and substance users out of prison, the uptake for antiviral treatment is extremely low. Based on a literature review to assess the spread of hepatitis C among prisoners and to learn more about the impact for the prison system, recommendations regarding hepatitis C prevention, screening and treatment in prisons have been formulated in this article. PMID:25252822

Value for money in drug treatment: economic evaluation of prison methadone.

PubMed

Warren, Emma; Viney, Rosalie; Shearer, James; Shanahan, Marian; Wodak, Alex; Dolan, Kate

2006-09-15

Although methadone maintenance treatment in community settings is known to reduce heroin use, HIV infection and mortality among injecting drug users (IDU), little is known about prison methadone programs. One reason for this is the complexity of undertaking evaluations in the prison setting. This paper estimates the cost-effectiveness of the New South Wales (NSW) prison methadone program. Information from the NSW prison methadone program was used to construct a model of the costs of the program. The information was combined with data from a randomised controlled trial of provision of prison methadone in NSW. The total program cost was estimated from the perspective of the treatment provider/funder. The cost per heroin free day, compared with no prison methadone, was estimated. Assumptions regarding resource use were tested through sensitivity analysis. The annual cost of providing prison methadone in NSW was estimated to be 2.9 million Australian dollars (or 3,234 Australian dollars per inmate per year). The incremental cost effectiveness ratio is 38 Australian dollars per additional heroin free day. From a treatment perspective, prison methadone is no more costly than community methadone, and provides benefits in terms of reduced heroin use in prisons, with associated reduction in morbidity and mortality.

US: developments in the treatment of HIV-positive prisoners in two states.

PubMed

Gibson, Katie

2005-08-01

Legal actions have been launched in Alabama and Mississippi to address living conditions and medical care of HIV-positive prisoners in state prisons. These were the only two states to allow complete segregation of HIV-positive prisoners in state prisons into the 1990s. The two cases highlight the ways in which the courts have been involved in supervising prison conditions in the United States.

Pathways to psychiatric care in European prison systems.

PubMed

Dressing, Harald; Salize, Hans-Joachim

2009-01-01

The aims of this study were to describe and analyse the concepts of provision of mental health services for prison inmates in 24 countries in the European Union and the EFTA. Data were gathered by means of a structured questionnaire that was completed by national experts in the participating countries. This article stresses the different organizational models of mental health care for inmates, different legal standards for screening their mental health status and different pathways to psychiatric care and aftercare. The study revealed serious shortcomings. Even the most rudimentary health reporting standards for mental health care in prison are lacking almost everywhere in Europe. Psychiatric screening and assessment procedures at prison entry and during imprisonment differ substantially and do not fulfil recognized quality standards. In many countries, the appointment of inadequately trained staff to perform such screenings increases considerably the risk that mental disorders or psychiatric needs of the inmates will remain undetected. Furthermore, the pathways to care in the case of an acute psychotic episode differ significantly, since referral to prison hospitals, medical prison wards, forensic hospitals, or general psychiatric hospital are used in various combinations depending on different national legal regulations and on the availability of services or other regional circumstances. Therefore, the collaborating experts place the quality of European prison mental health care into serious question. (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analysis of Prison Industries and Recommendations for Change. Study of the Economic and Rehabilitative Aspects of Prison Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Dept. of Justice/LEAA), Washington, DC.

This volume presents a study undertaken in Connecticut to identify short-term and long-term strategies for changing prison industries into self-supporting labor systems while simultaneously promoting the rehabilitation of prison inmates. Individual tasks performed as part of the study include a job market survey, an inmate manpower survey, and a…

Equine-Facilitated Prison-Based Programs within the Context of Prison-Based Animal Programs: State of the Science Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachi, Keren

2013-01-01

Equine-facilitated prison programs have become more prevalent and operate in correctional facilities in 13 states throughout the United States. However, there is a deficit of empirical knowledge to guide them. This article reviews 19 studies of prison-based animal programs and centers on patterns in the literature. It reveals how previous studies…

Mental disorders in Australian prisoners: a comparison with a community sample.

PubMed

Butler, Tony; Andrews, Gavin; Allnutt, Stephen; Sakashita, Chika; Smith, Nadine E; Basson, John

2006-03-01

The plight of those with mental health problems and the possible role of prisons in "warehousing" these individuals has received considerable media and political attention. Prisoners are generally excluded from community-based surveys and to date no studies have compared prisoners to the community. The objective was to examine whether excess psychiatric morbidity exists in prisoners compared to the general community after adjusting for demographics. Prison data were obtained from a consecutive sample of reception prisoners admitted into the state's correctional system in 2001 (n = 916). Community data were obtained from the 1997 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (n = 8168). Mental health diagnoses were obtained using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and a number of other screening measures. Weighting was used in calculating the 12-month prevalence estimates to control for demographic differences between the two samples. Logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and education was used to compare the prison and community samples. The 12-month prevalence of any psychiatric illness in the last year was 80% in prisoners and 31% in the community. Substantially more psychiatric morbidity was detected among prisoners than in the community group after accounting for demographic differences, particularly symptoms of psychosis (OR = 11.8, 95% CI 7.5-18.7), substance use disorders (OR = 11.4, 95% CI 9.7-13.6) and personality disorders (OR = 8.6, 95% CI 7.2-10.3). Mental functioning and disability score were worse for prisoners than the community except for physical health. This study found an overrepresentation of psychiatric morbidity in the prisoner population. Identifying the causes of this excess requires further investigation.

[Emotional self-control, coping with stress and psycho-physical well-being of prison officers].

PubMed

Sygit-Kowalkowska, Ewa; Weber-Rajek, Magdalena; Porażyński, Krzysztof; Goch, Aleksander; Kraszkiewicz, Krzysztof; Bułatowicz, Irena

2015-01-01

Mental and physical health status is closely associated with the specific character of work in the structures of the uniformed services. The aim of the study was to examine how self-control, revealed strategies of coping with stress, sociodemographic factors differentiate the level of psychological and physical well-being of prison officers, and what is the predictor of psychological and physical well-being in this occupational group. A questionnaire survey was conducted in a group of 75 prison officers working in the Prison Potulice Security Department. In the study the following tools were used: the questionnaire on "Psychosocial working conditions", popular questionnaire on emotional intelligence (Popularny Kwestionariusz Inteligencji Emocjonalnej--PKIE), Measure Coping Strategies with Stress (Mini-COPE) and the questionnaire on sociodemographic variables. A higher level of mental and physical well-being of the subjects was accompanied by a higher level of declared active coping and a lower level in the range of helplessness, avoidance, turn to religion and sense of humor. Regression analysis showed that the levels of emotional control, helplessness strategy and support seeking strategies are important predictors of physical well-being of the dependent variable. As regards the psychological well-being, significant predictors are: the levels of emotional control, sense of humor and support seeking. The value of the results is limited due to the methodology used to collect questionnaires. In our study a random trial was not used as the questionnaires were completed only by individuals interested in the subject under study. Knowledge about the specificity of the psychophysical characteristics of prison officers should be taken into account when designing the tools of occupational health promotion. Studies show an average low level of perceived well-being with a high level of self-control. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3

The Prison Project: A Proposed Model for a Clinical Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macey, Nora Lafley; And Others

1977-01-01

During the 1973-74 school year 10 law students taught a course in criminal law and prisoners' rights to interested inmates at the Indiana Women's Prison. Experiences of the Prison Project are described and its feasibility as a clinical course with credit is suggested. (LBH)

28 CFR 97.16 - Clothing requirements for transported violent prisoners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Clothing requirements for transported... transported violent prisoners. Companies covered under this part must ensure that all violent prisoners they transport are clothed in brightly colored clothing that clearly identifies them as violent prisoners, unless...

28 CFR 97.16 - Clothing requirements for transported violent prisoners.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Clothing requirements for transported... transported violent prisoners. Companies covered under this part must ensure that all violent prisoners they transport are clothed in brightly colored clothing that clearly identifies them as violent prisoners, unless...

Prisons as a source of tuberculosis in Russia.

PubMed

Sarang, Anya; Platt, Lucy; Vyshemirskaya, Inna; Rhodes, Tim

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze poor management of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and treatment and explore parameters and causes of this problem drawing on qualitative interviews with former prisoners and medical specialists in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia. The authors undertook a qualitative study, to explore access to HIV and TB treatment for people who inject drugs in Kaliningrad. The authors interviewed (outside of prisons) 15 patients and eight health specialists using a semi-structured guide. The authors analyzed the accounts thematically and health consequences of imprisonment emerged as a major theme. Prisons are overcrowded and lack basic hygiene and infection control. Demand for medical services outstrip supply, HIV and TB prevention lacking, HIV and TB treatment is patchy, with no second-line drugs available for resistant forms. The prison conditions are generally degrading and unhealthy and many respondents perceived surviving prisons as a miracle. Cooperation with medical services in the community is poor. The authors used qualitative research methods, which do not rely on a representative sample. However, many of the structural barriers preventing effective TB treatment and prevention highlighted in this paper have been noted elsewhere, suggesting that findings are likely to reflect conditions elsewhere in Russia. The authors tried to include all possible points of view, as of the medical staff and the patients. However, due to resistance of the officials the authors were unable to conduct interviews with employees of the FCS. Since all the interviews are recalling past experience, the situation may have changed. This does not undermine importance of the findings, as they shed light on particular treatment experiences, and development of prison health system. The paper contributes to the literature on prisons as a contributor to TB epidemic, including drug resistant forms. An urgent penitentiary reform in Russia should focus on HIV and TB

Women Prisoners: Reintegration into Family and Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banks, Martha E.; Ackerman, Rosalie J.

Little research exists that addresses the issue of rehabilitation of women prisoners. To examine the effectiveness of a group psychotherapy program in assisting women prisoners to make the transition to the community and their families, 16 institutionalized women participated in a workshop. The program involved both individual and group…

Exploring barriers to and enablers of adequate healthcare for Indigenous Australian prisoners with cancer: a scoping review drawing on evidence from Australia, Canada and the United States.

PubMed

Olds, Jessica; Reilly, Rachel; Yerrell, Paul; Stajic, Janet; Micklem, Jasmine; Morey, Kim; Brown, Alex

International frameworks supported by national principles in Australia stipulate that prisoners should be provided with health services equivalent to those provided in the general community. However, a number of barriers unique to the prison system may hinder the provision of equitable healthcare for this population. In Australia, Indigenous people carry a greater burden of cancer mortality, which the Cancer Data and Aboriginal Disparities (CanDAD) project is seeking to address. During the course of recruiting participants to the CanDAD study, Indigenous Australian prisoners with cancer emerged as an important, under-researched but difficult to access sub-group. This scoping review sought to identify barriers and facilitators of access to adequate and equitable healthcare for Indigenous Australian prisoners with cancer in Australia. This review demonstrated a lack of research and, as such, the scoping review was extended to prisoners with cancer in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. This approach was taken in order to summarise the existing body of evidence regarding the barriers and facilitators of access to adequate and equitable healthcare for those who are incarcerated and suffering from cancer, and highlight areas that may require further investigation. Eight studies or commentaries were found to meet the inclusion criteria. This limited set of findings pointed to a range of possible barriers faced by prisoners with cancer, including a tension between the prisons' concern with security versus the need for timely access to medical care. Findings identified here offer potential starting points for research and policy development. Further research is needed to better elucidate how barriers to adequate cancer care for prisoners may be identified and overcome, in Australia and internationally. Furthermore, given Indigenous Australians' over-burden of cancer mortality and over-representation in the prison system, further research is needed to

Exploitation of prisoners in clinical research: perceptions of study participants

PubMed Central

Christopher, Paul P.; Stein, Michael D.; Johnson, Jennifer E.; Rich, Josiah D.; Friedmann, Peter D.; Clarke, Jennifer G.; Lidz, Charles W.

2015-01-01

This paper discusses findings of a study examining whether prisoners view their participation in clinical research studies as exploitative. Perspectives of seventy prisoners who were enrolled in one of six different clinical studies were analyzed. A minority of participants agreed with statements suggestive of potential exploitation. All but one participant believed that prisoners should have greater access to research. On balance, these data provide reassurance that prisoners in this sample do not view their involvement in clinical research as inappropriately exploitative. PMID:26964404

[Incidence of suicide in Catalan prisons: a descriptive and comparative study].

PubMed

Bedoya, A; Martínez-Carpio, P A; Humet, V; Leal, M J; Lleopart, N

2009-10-01

The prevention of suicide in prison is one of the most important challenges facing prison health care services in developed countries. The aim of this study is to analyse the incidence of suicide in Catalan prisons and accumulate data about a number of variables that have also been studied in other prison populations. Retrospective study of suicide cases in prisons administrated by the Catalan Regional Government (Generalitat de Catalunya) between 1990 and 2005 (n=65). Comparative study of incidence with European countries using published data. The average annual incidence for the period is of 59/100.000, multiplying by eight the level corresponding to the general population. Entry into prison is the most important event trigger for suicide. Other data open the way to new research.

Vaccinations in prisons: A shot in the arm for community health

PubMed Central

Sequera, Víctor-Guillermo; Valencia, Salomé; García-Basteiro, Alberto L; Marco, Andrés; Bayas, José M

2015-01-01

From the first day of imprisonment, prisoners are exposed to and expose other prisoners to various communicable diseases, many of which are vaccine-preventable. The risk of acquiring these diseases during the prison sentence exceeds that of the general population. This excess risk may be explained by various causes; some due to the structural and logistical problems of prisons and others to habitual or acquired behaviors during imprisonment. Prison is, for many inmates, an opportunity to access health care, and is therefore an ideal opportunity to update adult vaccination schedules. The traditional idea that prisons are intended to ensure public safety should be complemented by the contribution they can make in improving community health, providing a more comprehensive vision of safety that includes public health. PMID:26158401

Actuarial Models for Assessing Prison Violence Risk: Revisions and Extensions of the Risk Assessment Scale for Prison (RASP)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, Mark D.; Sorensen, Jon R.

2006-01-01

An investigation and extension of the Risk Assessment Scale for Prison (RASP-Potosi), an actuarially derived scale for the assessment of prison violence, was undertaken through a retrospective review of the disciplinary records of the first 12 months of confinement of a cohort of inmates entering the Florida Department of Corrections in 2002 and…

The Health Promoting Prison (HPP) and its imperative for nursing.

PubMed

Whitehead, Dean

2006-01-01

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986 provided the catalyst from which the Health Promoting Prison (HPP) movement emerged. Here, an extensive review of the available prison-related health literature provides the basis for critical discussion and recommendations for nursing services and prison-related health care. The findings suggest that current prison-based nursing services are seriously neglected and woefully lacking in structure and resources. This article recommends strategies for reform that includes nurses who practice in all settings, and not just prison-based nurses. If nurses wish to be at the forefront of future HPP strategies, they must first embrace the radical health promotion reforms that are emerging from the current literature. Building sustainable group capacity into prison-based health care, through developing social interaction, cohesion, participation and political action can only benefit the community at large and further emphasise the health promotion role of nursing.

Correctional services and prison chaplaincy in Australia: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Carey, Lindsay B; Del Medico, Laura

2014-12-01

This paper summarizes an exploratory study undertaken to consider the work of Australian chaplaincy personnel ministering to prisoners within correctional facilities. This qualitative research was not concerned with specific correctional institutions per se, but predominantly about the perspectives of chaplains concerning their professional contribution and issues they experienced while trying to provide pastoral care to prisoners. Data from a single-focus group indicated that prison chaplains were striving to fulfill religious and spiritual duties according to national and international standards for the treatment of prisoners. Given various frustrations identified by participants, that either impeded or thwarted their professional role as chaplains, a number of improvements were subsequently identified in order to develop the efficiency and effectiveness of chaplaincy and thus maximize the benefits of pastoral care to prisoners. Implications of this exploratory study relate not only to prison chaplaincy but also to ecclesiastical organizations, correctional facilities, governments and the need of support for further research to be conducted.

[Evaluation of the need for periodontal treatment in prisons near Dakar, Senegal].

PubMed

Diouf, M; Cissé, D; Lo, C M M; Faye, D; Faye, B; Benoist, H M; Souaré, N

2009-12-01

Oral diseases qualify as major public health problems due to their high prevalence and incidence. They usually affect poor and marginal segments of the population. This study focused on the prison population that is characterized by poor living conditions and malnutrition. The aim of study was to assess the need for periodontal care in prisoners serving time in the Dakar region of Senegal. This cross-sectional study included 375 prisoners serving in three facilities, i.e. the penal camp, Liberte VI prison for women, and Rufisque prison for women. Data were collected using a modified WHO information sheet. The community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) was used for scoring. Statistical analysis with stratification by sex and age was performed and tests were considered as significant for p < or = 0.05. There were 335 men (89.3%) and 40 women (10.7%) with a sex ratio of 8.3. Mean age was 35 years +/- 11.5 (range, 16-88). Mean prison time was 39.29 months +/- 17.73. The proportion of prisoners needing periodontal treatment increased gradually according to prison time with significant differences (p < 0.05) even after stratification. Better management taking into account the environment and prison time would reduce the need for periodontal treatment in prisons in Dakar.

Why Does a Large Prison Population Yield So Few Participants in a College Program Offered at Prison Sites?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, S. M. Steve

A study was conducted to determine why such a small number (less than 2 percent) of the approximately 9,000 adult male prisoners housed in the 3 complexes of the California Institution for Men (Chino, California) in the mid-1980s were actively participating in the college program offered at the prison sites. Data were collected through interviews…

Looking behind the bars: emerging health issues for people in prison.

PubMed

Stürup-Toft, S; O'Moore, E J; Plugge, E H

2018-03-01

There are more than 10 million people imprisoned worldwide. These individuals experience a higher burden of communicable and non-communicable disease, mental health and substance misuse problems than the general population and often come from marginalized and underserved groups in the community. Prisons offer an important opportunity for tackling health problems in a way that can deliver benefits to the individual and to the community. This paper focuses specifically on emerging health issues for prisons across the world. This paper uses sources of international data from published systematic reviews and research studies, the Ministry of Justice for England and Wales, the Prisons and Probations Ombudsmen Review and other United Kingdom government briefing papers. Deaths in custody are a key concern for the justice system as well as the health system. Suicide is the leading cause of mortality in prisons worldwide but non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, are increasing in importance in high-income countries and are now the leading cause of mortality in prisons in England and Wales. The prison population is ageing in most high-income countries. Older people in prison typically have multiple and complex medical and social care needs including reduced mobility and personal care needs as well as poor health. Further research is needed to understand the complex relationship between sentencing patterns, the ageing prison population and deaths in custody; to model its impact on prisons and healthcare provision in the future and to determine effective and cost-effective models of care. Research into the health of prisoners is important in improving the health of prisoners but there is considerable variation in quantity and quality between countries. Recent innovations seek to address this disparity and facilitate the sharing of good practice.

Cross-sectional dietary deficiencies among a prison population in Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

Gould, Camilla; Tousignant, Benoit; Brian, Garry; McKay, Robert; Gibson, Rosalind; Bailey, Karl; Venn, Bernard J

2013-04-22

To investigate the dietary adequacy of prisoners of Beon Prison, Madang, Papua New Guinea in response to a report of possible nutritional deficiency. We undertook an observational, cross-sectional study. All 254 male inmates (May 2010) were eligible to answer a validated interview-based questionnaire; to have a comprehensive dietary assessment; and to provide blood for biochemical analysis (α-tocopherol, β-carotene, lutein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, homocysteine, zinc, ferritin, and vitamins A, B12 and C). Prison guards were invited to participate as a comparison group. 148 male prisoners (58.3%) and 13 male prison guards participated. Prison rations consisted of white rice fortified with thiamin, niacin, and iron, tinned tuna, tinned corned beef, water crackers, and black tea, with occasional intakes of fruit and vegetables. Some prisoners received supplementary food from weekend visitors. From assessment of the prisoners dietary data, median intakes of calcium (137 mg), potassium (677 mg), magnesium (182 mg), riboflavin (0.308 mg), vitamin A (54.1 μg), vitamin E (1.68 mg), vitamin C (5.7 mg) and folate (76.4 μg) were found to be below estimated average requirements (EAR). The prisoners diets are likely lacking in several micronutrients and recommendations for dietary change have been made to the prison authorities. Ongoing vigilance is required in prisons to ensure the basic human right of access to a nutritionally adequate diet is being observed.

Alternatives to current HIV/AIDS policies and practices in South African prisons.

PubMed

Goyer, K C; Gow, Jeff

2002-01-01

Prisoners in South Africa face problems of overcrowding, violence and poor nutrition. Added to this burden in recent times is the increased threat from HIV. The HIV epidemic has been relatively late in coming to South Africa but infection rates are now 20% in the adult population. However, there is no data available on the level of HIV infection in the prison population. Overseas studies suggest that the characteristics of prisoners place them at much greater risk of HIV infection. Factors which contribute to increased levels of HIV infection include poor health care facilities, lack of condoms and lack of disinfectants. Current policies and practices on HIV in prison attempt to balance the constraints of limited resources with the need to preserve prisoner human rights. The outcomes include: mass testing not freely available, HIV education is limited, and early release of prisoners with advanced AIDS is not allowed. Constraints on the implementation of effective HIV prevention strategies include: bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of resources, and a reluctance by prison authorities to address the issue of HIV in prison. These problems can possibly be overcome by addressing the issue from both management and prisoner perspectives. On the management side, increased resources, increased training of prison officials, and increased political commitment to address the issue are required. Outside partnerships are probably required for an effective response. Prisoners require better nutrition, better living conditions, better health care, freely available condoms and disinfectants.

Health status of the prisoners in a central jail of South India.

PubMed

Kumar, Sunil D; Kumar, Santosh A; Pattankar, Jayashree V; Reddy, Shrinivas B; Dhar, Murali

2013-10-01

Health care in prisons is one of the neglected health areas in our country. Looking into the health problems of prisons will show us a way for the approach in providing the heath care for prisoners. To assess the health status of convicted inmates of prison and to study their sociodemographic profile. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the inmates of central prison over a period of 1 year. Study population comprised of 300 convicted life-term prisoners. The inmates were interviewed using predesigned and pretested proforma. Sociodemographic data were analyzed by frequencies and percentages along with 95% confidence interval using statistical package SPSS18. In health status, 29 (9.6%) inmates suffered from acute upper respiratory tract infections and 15 (5%) from acute lower respiratory tract infections. A total of 54 (18%) inmates had ascariasis. Diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue contributed to 26 (8.7%) of inmates. A total of 252 (84%) prisoners had anemia. In sociodemographic profile, it was found that rural people, unmarried, illiterates, lower socioeconomic status people were more likely to have committed the crime resulting in the conviction for life. As there is an increase in number of prisoners and morbidities among them, there is an urgent need for prison health care services in developing countries like India and provide training to the health care providers to manage the commonly existing health problems among prisoners in the prisons.

Multidisciplinary team working in an adult male prison establishment in the UK.

PubMed

Heidari, E; Dickinson, C; Newton, T

2014-08-01

The first two articles in this series exploring the oral and dental health of male prisoners in the UK demonstrated how the general and oral health of prisoners is compromised compared to those of a similar age who are not prisoners. In caring for the oral health needs of this group the high demand for emergency dental services often precludes the delivery of preventive and routine care. Comprehensive oral care for this population requires a level of training to gain the skills and knowledge to manage prisoners' complex medical, dental and social needs and the heightened dental anxiety that prisoners exhibit. The type of training that might be required for prison dentistry will be discussed in the final article. This article will describe a number of cases selected to demonstrate the complex problems presented by male prisoners in Her Majesty's Prison (HMP), Brixton. This article will also discuss the establishment of a primary care inter-professional relationship network (IRN) developed within a prison setting involving a dentist and other healthcare professionals. After informal discussions between the dentist and other prison healthcare professionals, it became apparent that vulnerable patients were not accessing dental services. These patients also cancel/fail to attend their dental appointments more frequently. In order to improve access and provision of dental care for this group of prisoners, an IRN was developed between the dentist, diabetic nurse, forensic psychology team, communicable disease lead, general medical practitioner (GMP), prison officers and healthcare manager within HMP Brixton. The nature of the IRN is presented along with reviews with relevant patient cases. The IRN allowed information sharing between professionals and an open care culture. The network was valued by prisoners. Prison populations show higher rates of general and oral disease, therefore an IRN can help to identify vulnerable groups and allow healthcare providers to give

Measuring Victimization inside Prisons: Questioning the Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolff, Nancy; Shi, Jing; Bachman, Ronet

2008-01-01

Violence and victimization inside the prison setting are accepted as facts, although the facts about their prevalence remain uncertain. Variation in the methods used to estimate rates of sexual and physical victimization contribute to the wide range in estimates appearing in the prison literature. This article focuses on the questions used in the…

Prison Education across Europe: Policy, Practice, Politics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costelloe, Anne; Warner, Kevin

2014-01-01

The nature of the education offered in prisons varies greatly. Provision can be focused narrowly on limited objectives, such as training for employment or seeking to "address offending behaviour." On the other hand, where prison education follows the policies of the Council of Europe or the European Union, which are drawn from the…

Prisons for Profit: Public Justice, Private Interests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donahue, John D.

This paper examines several aspects of the private prison debate: (1) How much scope is there for improving the technical and economic efficiency of incarceration through contracting-out to private prison entrepreneurs? (2) Will a fully developed corrections industry be sufficiently competitive to ensure that any efficiency gains are passed on to…

Parenting from Prison: Staying Connected while Apart

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomlin, Angela; Pickholtz, Naomi; Green, Allison; Rumble, Patricia

2012-01-01

The United States has more people in prison than any other country, and more than half of those incarcerated are parents. This article reviews the challenges to parenting while in prison and considers how parental attachment experiences and difficult life trajectories have an impact on parent-child relationships. The authors provide examples of…

Prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in prisoners

PubMed Central

de Navarro, Pedro Daibert; de Almeida, Isabela Neves; Kritski, Afrânio Lineu; Ceccato, Maria das Graças; Maciel, Mônica Maria Delgado; Carvalho, Wânia da Silva; de Miranda, Silvana Spindola

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the prevalence of and the factors associated with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in prisoners in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional cohort study conducted in two prisons in Minas Gerais. Tuberculin skin tests were performed in the individuals who agreed to participate in the study. Results: A total of 1,120 individuals were selected for inclusion in this study. The prevalence of LTBI was 25.2%. In the multivariate analysis, LTBI was associated with self-reported contact with active tuberculosis patients within prisons (adjusted OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.05-2.18) and use of inhaled drugs (adjusted OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.03-2.13). Respiratory symptoms were identified in 131 (11.7%) of the participants. Serological testing for HIV was performed in 940 (83.9%) of the participants, and the result was positive in 5 (0.5%). Two cases of active tuberculosis were identified during the study period. Conclusions: Within the prisons under study, the prevalence of LTBI was high. In addition, LTBI was associated with self-reported contact with active tuberculosis patients and with the use of inhaled drugs. Our findings demonstrate that it is necessary to improve the conditions in prisons, as well as to introduce strategies, such as chest X-ray screening, in order to detect tuberculosis cases and, consequently, reduce M. tuberculosis infection within the prison system. PMID:27812634

Use of psychoactive substances in prison: Results of a study in the Lyon-Corbas prison, France.

PubMed

Sahajian, F; Berger-Vergiat, A; Pot, E

2017-09-01

In prison, in 2012, according to various sources, from 4 to 56% of the European inmate population used psychoactive substances (PAS). The aim of our study was to describe PAS consumption during incarceration in the prison of Lyon-Corbas, France. A transversal descriptive study was conducted between September 23rd and September 27th 2013 among all inmates of this prison. We used an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, distributed at lunchtime and collected, the same day, at dinnertime, by the mental health service personnel. Among 785 inmates present at the time of the study in the prison of Lyon-Corbas, 710 were included and the response rate was 64.4% (95% CI [60.8-67.8]). Among 457 responding inmates, 16.4% (95% CI [13.2-20.0]) reported no PAS consumption. Among 382 consumers, 74.4% (95% CI [69.8-78.5]) used tobacco, 36.8% (95% CI [32.2-41.8]) cannabis, 30.4% (95% CI [25.9-35.1]) alcohol, 7.7% (95% CI [5.2-10.6]) heroin and 10.3% (95% CI [7.5-13.6]) cocaine. Furthermore, 15% of consumers had started PAS consumption during their incarceration. Among consumers of at least one PAS other than tobacco, cannabis and alcohol, the way of consumption was sniff for 60.0% (95% CI [48.5-70.2]) and injection for 31.0% (95% CI [21.6-42.1]). Use of several PAS at the same time and sharing sniffing and/or injection paraphernalia were other risky behaviors observed; 12% (95% CI [5.8-20.4]) of drug injectors declared using chlorine to sterilize their injection paraphernalia. Our study provides worrying data about PAS consumption in prison. The measures of prohibition do not prevent this consumption. There is even an initiation of consumption of PAS for 15% of the first-time incarcerated inmates. This finding should encourage public authorities to facilitate access of inmates to the care structures in prisons, to improve drug use prevention and care programs and to develop activities (sports, cultural, educational and vocational). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS

The need to improve health care in prisons

PubMed Central

Fernandes, Luiz Henrique; Alvarenga, Carlos Willie; dos Santos, Luciane Loures; Pazin, Antonio

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE To analyze physical structure, working conditions of health professionals and outline of the procedures established in prisons. METHODS We analyzed 34 provisional detention centers and 69 male and six female prison units in the state of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, in 2009. A self-applied instrument was developed to collect quantitative data on the characteristics of health care structure, equipment and personnel in prisons. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) or equivalent non-parametric tests and Chi-square or Fisher’s tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively, between the groups. RESULTS The main problems were delays in the results of laboratory tests and imaging. With respect to the teams, it was observed that a large majority were in conditions close to those proposed by the Bipartite Commission 2013 but without improvement being reflected in the indicators. With respect to the process, more than 60.0% of prisons located in small towns do not have the structural conditions to ensure secondary or tertiary health care for the continuity of treatment. CONCLUSIONS This profile of prisons in the country can be used for planning and monitoring future actions for the continuous improvement of healthcare processes. PMID:24897049

Youth in crisis: dimensions of self-destructive conduct among adolescent prisoners.

PubMed

Johnson, R

1978-01-01

Self-mutilation and attempted suidcide among adolescent prisoners are explored in relation to concrete coping tests posed in prison and to self-esteem problems posed by failure of external (family) and internal (peer) support systems. Crisis sequences are traced using verbatim excerpts from interviews with self-destructive prisoners and conceptualized in terms of enduring adolescent needs and concerns. Some general observations regarding strategies of intervention with crisisprone prisoners are included.

Burden and Determinants of Smoking among Prisoners with Respiratory Tract Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study of Nine Major Prison Setups in Northern Ethiopia.

PubMed

Abera, Semaw Ferede; Adane, Kelemework

2016-01-01

Morbidity, mortality and a wide range of associated risk factors are disproportionately clustered among prisoners compared to the general population. Smoking is one of the risk factors for the increased burden of unfavorable health outcomes particularly among prisoners. However, little is known about the level and determinants of smoking among the incarcerated population in Ethiopia. We collected data from 738 prisoners in nine major prison setups in Tigray region by nurses and clinical officers. Data were entered in to Epi Data 3.1 and exported to stata 13.0 for cleaning and further analysis. Multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify determinants of smoking at p value of less than 5%. The prevalence of smoking was 21 per cent (95%CI = 18.2%, 24.1). Urban residence (AOR = 2.15; 95%CI = 1.20, 3.84), previous history of incarceration (AOR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.08, 3.40) and alcohol use before incarcerated (AOR = 4.20; 95%CI = 2.57, 6.87) were significantly associated with risk of smoking. In contrast, risk of smoking was significantly lower for farmers (AOR = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.08, 0.49), prisoners with family support (AOR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.32, 0.87) and for those who were jailed in Shire prison site (AOR = 0.43; 95%CI = 0.20, 0.95). Our work clearly indicates that the observed smoking prevalence calls for the need of comprehensive and interdisciplinary interventions targeting prisoners.

Implementation contexts of a Tuberculosis Control Program in Brazilian prisons

PubMed Central

de Oliveira, Luisa Gonçalves Dutra; Natal, Sonia; Camacho, Luiz Antonio Bastos

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE To analyze the influence from context characteristics in the control of tuberculosis in prisons, and the influence from the program implementation degrees in observed effects. METHODS A multiple case study, with a qualitative approach, conducted in the prison systems of two Brazilian states in 2011 and 2012. Two prisons were analyzed in each state, and a prison hospital was analyzed in one of them. The data were submitted to a content analysis, which was based on external, political-organizational, implementation, and effect dimensions. Contextual factors and the ones in the program organization were correlated. The independent variable was the program implementation degree and the dependent one, the effects from the Tuberculosis Control Program in prisons. RESULTS The context with the highest sociodemographic vulnerability, the highest incidence rate of tuberculosis, and the smallest amount of available resources were associated with the low implementation degree of the program. The results from tuberculosis treatment in the prison system were better where the program had already been partially implemented than in the case with low implementation degree in both cases. CONCLUSIONS The implementation degree and its contexts – external and political-organizational dimensions – simultaneously contribute to the effects that are observed in the control of tuberculosis in analyzed prisons. PMID:26465668

32 CFR 644.404 - Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 644... Interests § 644.404 Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 18 U.S.C. 4122 authorizes any department or agency of the Department of Defense to transfer without exchange of funds, to Federal Prison Industries...

32 CFR 644.404 - Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 644... Interests § 644.404 Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 18 U.S.C. 4122 authorizes any department or agency of the Department of Defense to transfer without exchange of funds, to Federal Prison Industries...

32 CFR 644.404 - Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 644... Interests § 644.404 Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 18 U.S.C. 4122 authorizes any department or agency of the Department of Defense to transfer without exchange of funds, to Federal Prison Industries...

32 CFR 644.404 - Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 644... Interests § 644.404 Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 18 U.S.C. 4122 authorizes any department or agency of the Department of Defense to transfer without exchange of funds, to Federal Prison Industries...

32 CFR 644.404 - Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 644... Interests § 644.404 Transfers to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. 18 U.S.C. 4122 authorizes any department or agency of the Department of Defense to transfer without exchange of funds, to Federal Prison Industries...

Impact of opioid substitution therapy for Scotland's prisoners on drug‐related deaths soon after prisoner release

PubMed Central

Fischbacher, Colin M.; Graham, Lesley; Fraser, Andrew

2015-01-01

Abstract Aim To assess whether the introduction of a prison‐based opioid substitution therapy (OST) policy was associated with a reduction in drug‐related deaths (DRD) within 14 days after prison release. Design Linkage of Scotland's prisoner database with death registrations to compare periods before (1996–2002) and after (2003–07) prison‐based OST was introduced. Setting All Scottish prisons. Participants People released from prison between 1 January 1996 and 8 October 2007 following an imprisonment of at least 14 days and at least 14 weeks after the preceding qualifying release. Measurements Risk of DRD in the 12 weeks following release; percentage of these DRDs which occurred during the first 14 days. Findings Before prison‐based OST (1996–2002), 305 DRDs occurred in the 12 weeks after 80 200 qualifying releases, 3.8 per 1000 releases [95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.4–4.2]; of these, 175 (57%) occurred in the first 14 days. After the introduction of prison‐based OST (2003–07), 154 DRDs occurred in the 12 weeks after 70 317 qualifying releases, a significantly reduced rate of 2.2 per 1000 releases (95% CI = 1.8–2.5). However, there was no change in the proportion which occurred in the first 14 days, either for all DRDs (87: 56%) or for opioid‐related DRDs. Conclusions Following the introduction of a prison‐based opioid substitution therapy (OST) policy in Scotland, the rate of drug‐related deaths in the 12 weeks following release fell by two‐fifths. However, the proportion of deaths that occurred in the first 14 days did not change appreciably, suggesting that in‐prison OST does not reduce early deaths after release. PMID:25940815

Strange Bedfellows? Reaffirming Rehabilitation and Prison Privatization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Kevin A.

2010-01-01

Private prisons are here to stay irrespective of empirical findings for or against their existence in the corrections industry. It is necessary, therefore, to step back and consider them on a broader level to assess how they can benefit current penological practice. It will be argued that prison privatization creates an opportunity to reassess the…

Fathers in Prison: Impact of Parenting Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bushfield, Suzanne

2004-01-01

As the male prison population increases, so too does the number of children with fathers in prison. The negative impact of fatherlessness on children has been well documented. While parenting education is often seen as an effective tool to improve the quality of family relationships and foster positive outcomes for children, fathers in prison…

Legal aspects of administrating antipsychotic medications to jail and prison inmates.

PubMed

Dlugacz, Henry; Wimmer, Christopher

2013-01-01

The administration of antipsychotic medications to jail and prison inmates involves two related components: conducting the informed consent process in a coercive environment and, where consent is not obtained, forcible administration of medication if needed. In the United States, both involve common law, statutory, and constitutional principles. Obtaining informed consent in correctional institutions is complicated. Patients in correctional institutions lack access to alternate sources of information, and depend on the correctional system completely - a system which they may distrust. This may influence the patient's view of the administering physician. Where consent cannot be obtained, forcible administration may be legally permissible for two primary reasons: to restore a criminal defendant to competency in order to stand trial and to ameliorate severe symptoms of mental disability, particularly when they threaten the safety of self, others, or in some instances, property. The interests at stake for the individual and the government, and the legal standards developed to balance these interests, differ between the two situations. When considering challenges to forcible medication of inmates serving a prison sentence, the United States Supreme Court has treated the interest of the institution in maintaining security as paramount. By contrast, when considering challenges to forcible medication of pretrial detainees, the Court's concern for the fair trial rights guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment has seemingly led it to moderate its emphasis on security. However, this distinction is not stable and may in fact be breaking down, as the recent case of Jared Loughner demonstrates. This article discusses the various federal, state, and international legal standards applicable to both informed consent and forcible medication, and their implementation in the correctional setting, focusing on issues related to the United States. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization

PubMed Central

Blitz, Cynthia L.; Shi, Jing; Bachman, Ronet; Siegel, Jane A.

2006-01-01

People in prison are exposed to and experience sexual violence inside prisons, further exposing them to communicable diseases and trauma. The consequences of sexual violence follow the individual into the community upon release. This paper estimates the prevalence of sexual victimization within a state prison system. A total of 6,964 men and 564 women participated in a survey administered using audio-CASI. Weighted estimates of prevalence were constructed by gender and facility size. Rates of sexual victimization varied significantly by gender, age, perpetrator, question wording, and facility. Rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization in the previous 6 months were highest for female inmates (212 per 1,000), more than four times higher than male rates (43 per 1,000). Abusive sexual conduct was more likely between inmates and between staff and inmates than nonconsensual sexual acts. Sexual violence inside prison is an urgent public health issue needing targeted interventions to prevent and ameliorate its health and social consequences, which spatially concentrate in poor inner-city areas where these individuals ultimately return. PMID:16937087

Socioeconomic factors associated with drug consumption in prison population in Mexico.

PubMed

Nevárez-Sida, Armando; Constantino-Casas, Patricia; Castro-Ríos, Angélica

2012-01-13

Consumption of illegal drugs is a public health problem in Mexico, and the prison population is a vulnerable group with higher rates of prevalence than in the general population. The objective of this study was to determine the main socioeconomic variables associated with drug consumption in the prison population. Utilizing data from the Second Incarcerated Population Survey carried out by the Centre of Research and Teaching of Economics (CIDE) in Mexico, a logistic model in two stages was developed. The first stage analyzed the determinants of habitual drug consumption by prisoners (prior to admittance into prisons), while the second stage of the model addressed drug consumption within prisons. Prevalence of drug consumption previous to incarceration was 28.5%, although once people were imprisoned this figure dropped to 7.4%. The characteristics that most heavily influenced against the possibility of habitual drug consumption prior to admittance to prison were: preparatory school or higher, being employed and having children; while the variables associated negatively were: male gender, childhood home shared with adults who consumed illegal drugs; abandoning childhood home; and having previous prison sentences. Once in prison, the negative conditions in there are associated with drug consumption. Work and study during incarceration, in addition to being instruments for rehabilitation, seem to exert an important positive association against drug consumption. However, this correlation seems to be minimized in the face of negative conditions of the penal institution; thus, public policies are necessary to improve the prisoner's environment.

Exploring the Influence of Ethnicity, Age, and Trauma on Prisoners' World Assumptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Sandy

2011-01-01

In this study, the author explores world assumptions of prisoners, how these assumptions vary by ethnicity and age, and whether trauma history affects world assumptions. A random sample of young and old prisoners, matched for prison location, was drawn from the New Jersey Department of Corrections prison population. Age and ethnicity had…

Iraqi Prisoners in Norway: Educational Background, Participation, Preferences and Barriers to Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westrheim, Kariane; Manger, Terje

2014-01-01

The article aimed to develop knowledge of the educational background, participation and preferences of Iraqi prisoners in Norwegian prisons and obstacles to participating in education. The study is based on interviews with 17 prisoners in three prisons. An important finding is that war and political unrest appear to have been significant causes…

Aqueous foam as a less-than-lethal technology for prison applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goolsby, Tommy D.

1997-01-01

High expansion aqueous foam is an aggregation of bubbles that has the appearance of soap suds and is used to isolate individuals both visually and acoustically. It was developed in the 1920's in England to fight coal mine fires and has been widely used since for fire fighting and dust suppression. It was developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in the 1970's for nuclear safeguards and security applications. In late 1994, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the Department of Justice, began a project with SNL to determine the applicability of high expansion aqueous foam for correctional applications. NIJ funded the project as part of its search for new and better less-than-lethal weapons for responding to violent and dangerous individuals, where other means of force could lead to serious injuries. The phase one objectives of the project were to select a low-to-no toxicity foam concentrate with physical characteristics suited for use in a single cell or large prison disturbances, and to determine if the selected foam concentrate could serve as a carrier for Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) irritant. The phase two objective were to conduct an extensive toxicology review of the selected foam concentrate and OC irritant, and to conduct respiration simulation experiments in the selected high expansion aqueous foam. The phase three objectives were to build a prototype individual cell aqueous foam system and to study the feasibility of aqueous foams for large prison facility disturbances. The phase four and five objectives were to use the prototype system to do large scale foam physical characteristics testing of the selected foam concentrate, and to have the prototype single cell system further evaluated by correctional representatives. Prison rather than street scenarios were evaluated as the first and most likely place for using the aqueous foam since prisons have recurrent incidents where officers and inmates might be seriously injured during

The Prevalence of Intellectual Disability in a Major UK Prison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Susan; Shackell, Phil; Mottram, Pat; Lancaster, Rachel

2007-01-01

Over-representation of people with learning disability in prisons has been demonstrated in many Western jurisdictions. This was the first comprehensive research in a UK prison. The research used a random 10% sample of a prison population (n = 140). A semi-structured interview, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (UK version) and the Vineland…

Prevalence and characteristics of prisoners requiring end-of-life care: A prospective national survey

PubMed Central

Pazart, Lionel; Godard-Marceau, Aurélie; Chassagne, Aline; Vivot-Pugin, Aurore; Cretin, Elodie; Amzallag, Edouard; Aubry, Regis

2017-01-01

Background: Ensuring adequate end-of-life care for prisoners is a critical issue. In France, data investigating the impact of laws allowing release of seriously ill prisoners are lacking. Aim: To assess the number and characteristics of prisoners requiring palliative care in French prisons. Design: A prospective, national survey collecting data over a 3-month period. Setting/participants: All healthcare units (n = 190) providing care for prisoners in France. The prison population was 66,698 during the study period. Data collection concerned prisoners requiring end-of-life care, that is, with serious, advanced, progressive, or terminal illness and life expectancy <1 year. Results: Estimated annual prevalence of ill prisoners requiring end-of-life care was 15.2 (confidence interval: 12.5–18.3) per 10,000 prisoners. The observed number of prisoners requiring palliative care (n = 50) was twice as high as the expected age- and sex-standardized number based on the general population and similar to the expected number among persons 10 years older in the free community. In all, 41 of 44 (93%) of identified ill prisoners were eligible for temporary or permanent compassionate release, according to their practitioner. Only 33 of 48 (68%) of ill prisoners requested suspension or reduction in their sentence on medical grounds; half (16/33) received a positive answer. Conclusion: The proportion of prisoners requiring palliative care is higher than expected in the general population. The general frailty and co-existing conditions of prisoners before incarceration and the acceleration of these phenomena in prison could explain this increase in end-of-life situations among prisoners. PMID:28786339

Researching the psychological therapies in prison: considerations and future recommendations.

PubMed

Gee, Joanna; Bertrand-Godfrey, Betty

2014-01-01

The psychological therapies are widely considered within the forensic literature as holding a useful role in the prison system, however, despite this, very little research into the psychological therapies has taken place. Further, where research is carried out, it is often associated with the need for evidence-based practice (EBP), involving quantification and randomization. The paper aims to discuss these issues. This paper will initially introduce the importance of research into the psychological therapies in prison, followed by a consideration of EBP which can be thought of as the current movement governing research in the psychological therapies in the UK. However, in providing a focused critique of EBP, particularly within prisons, this paper will attempt to pave the way for a consideration of alternative research methodologies and resultant methods in researching the psychological therapies in prisons in the UK. Through this it is argued that research within the prison setting should act not to promote interventions and create an evidence-based as such, but to provide an accessible body of knowledge for the psychological therapists working in prisons in the UK.

19 CFR 114.23 - Maximum period.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Maximum period. 114.23 Section 114.23 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CARNETS Processing of Carnets § 114.23 Maximum period. (a) A.T.A. carnet. No A.T.A. carnet with a period...

Prevalence Rates of Mental Disorders in Chilean Prisons

PubMed Central

Mundt, Adrian P.; Alvarado, Rubén; Fritsch, Rosemarie; Poblete, Catalina; Villagra, Carolina; Kastner, Sinja; Priebe, Stefan

2013-01-01

Objective High rates of mental disorders have been reported for prison populations worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The present study aimed to establish prevalence rates of mental disorders in Chilean prisoners. Method A nationwide random sample of 1008 prisoners was assessed in 7 penal institutions throughout Chile. Twelve-month prevalence rates were established using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and compared to the prevalence rates previously published for the general population. Results Prevalence rates were 12.2% (95% CI, 10.2-14.1) for any substance use disorder, 8.3% (6.6-10.0) for anxiety disorders, 8.1% (6.5-9.8) for affective disorders, 5.7% (4.4-7.1) for intermittent explosive disorders, 2.2% (1.4-3.2) for ADHD of the adult, and 0.8% (0.3-1.3) for non-affective psychoses. Significantly higher prevalence rates among prisoners as compared to the general population in Chile were seen for major depression (6.1% vs. 3.7% males, Z=2.58, p<0.05) and illicit drug use (3.3% vs. 0.6% males with drug abuse, Z=2.04, p<0.05; 2.6% vs. 0.1% females with drug abuse, Z=5.36, p<0.001; 3.4% vs. 1.1% males with drug dependence, Z=3.70; p<0.001). Dysthymia (6.5% vs. 15.6%, Z=-2.39, p<0.05), simple (3.3% vs. 11.5%, Z=-3.13, p<0.001) and social phobias (3.9% vs. 9.7%, Z=2.38, p<0.05) were significantly less frequent in the female prison population than in the general population. One-year prevalence rates of alcohol abuse (2.3% vs. 3.9%; Z=-2.04; p<0.05) and dependence (2.7% vs. 8.2%; Z=-5.24; p<0.001) were less prevalent in the male prison population than in the general population. Conclusions Service provision for prison populations in Chile should acknowledge high rates of depression and illicit drug use. Overall prevalence rates are lower than reported in other LMICs. Previous research in prison populations in LMICs might have overestimated prevalence rates of mental disorders. PMID:23894415

Factors related to the quality of life of older prisoners.

PubMed

De Smet, Stefaan; De Donder, Liesbeth; Ryan, Denis; Van Regenmortel, Sofie; Brosens, Dorien; Vandevelde, Stijn

2017-06-01

There is evidence of an increasing emphasis on the relevance of the quality of life-paradigm as an outcome measure for clients in geriatric, forensic, as well as correctional care. This paper aims to explore to what extent variables that were categorized according to the main areas of the Good Lives Model ('the self', 'the body' and 'social life') are related to the quality of life domains of older imprisoned offenders. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire administered in individual interviews with 93 older prisoners aged 60 years and over in 16 prisons of the Dutch-speaking region in Belgium. Characteristics of the main GLM-areas were identified by specifically designed items as well three validated instruments (psychiatric disorders, loneliness, and frailty). Dependent variables consisted of the four sub-domains of the WHOQOL-BREF instrument which measures quality of life in four domains, namely: (1) physical health, (2) psychological health, (3) social relationships, and (4) environment. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for statistical analysis. Individual variables, such as satisfaction with activities, were related to the older prisoners' QoL in several domains simultaneously. Other than suicidal ideation, psychopathological symptoms had no significant relation to quality of life. Approaches enabling older prisoner to disclose their interests, experiences, and feelings are important in prison. Special attention should be given to psychiatric and age-related symptoms of older prisoners, since they may not be noted by the prison staff, as older prisoners seem to be poorer self-advocates as compared to their younger peers.

Buprenorphine dose induction in non-opioid-tolerant pre-release prisoners.

PubMed

Vocci, Frank J; Schwartz, Robert P; Wilson, Monique E; Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Fitzgerald, Terrence T; O'Grady, Kevin E; Jaffe, Jerome H

2015-11-01

In a previously reported randomized controlled trial, formerly opioid-dependent prisoners were more likely to enter community drug abuse treatment when they were inducted in prison onto buprenorphine/naloxone (hereafter called buprenorphine) than when they received counseling without buprenorphine in prison (47.5% vs. 33.7%, p=0.012) (Gordon et al., 2014). In this communication we report on the results of the induction schedule and the adverse event profile seen in pre-release prisoners inducted onto buprenorphine. This paper examines the dose induction procedure, a comparison of the proposed versus actual doses given per week, and side effects reported for 104 adult participants who were randomized to buprenorphine treatment in prison. Self-reported side effects were analyzed using generalized estimated equations to determine changes over time in side effects. Study participants were inducted onto buprenorphine at a rate faster than the induction schedule. Of the 104 (72 males, 32 females) buprenorphine recipients, 64 (37 males, 27 females) remained on medication at release from prison. Nine participants (8.6%) discontinued buprenorphine because of unpleasant opioid side effects. There were no serious adverse events reported during the in-prison phase of the study. Constipation was the most frequent symptom reported (69 percent). Our findings suggest that buprenorphine administered to non-opioid-tolerant adults should be started at a lower, individualized dose than customarily used for adults actively using opioids, and that non-opioid-tolerant pre-release prisoners can be successfully inducted onto therapeutic doses prior to release. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contribution of Imitative Suicide to the Suicide Rate in Prisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenzie, Nigel; Keane, Michael

2007-01-01

Suicide rates in prisons are high. Our aim was to investigate the contribution of imitative suicide to the prison suicide rate. We used Knox tests for space-time clustering in a case register of natural and self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales and model simulations to estimate the effect size. We found significant space-time…

Family Support in the Prisoner Reentry Process: Expectations and Realities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naser, Rebecca L.; La Vigne, Nancy G.

2006-01-01

This paper examines the role of family in the prisoner reintegration process, exploring the views of soon-to-be-released prisoners regarding the family support they expect to receive as well as their assessments of how supportive family members actually were after release. It draws on a study of 413 male prisoners returning to the cities of…

The potential of prison-based democratic therapeutic communities.

PubMed

Bennett, Jamie; Shuker, Richard

2017-03-13

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the work of HMP Grendon, the only prison in the UK to operate entirely as a series of democratic therapeutic communities and to summarise the research of its effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach The paper is both descriptive, providing an overview of the work of a prison-based therapeutic community, and offers a literature review regarding evidence of effectiveness. Findings The work of HMP Grendon has a wide range of positive benefits including reduced levels of disruption in prison, reduced self-harm, improved well-being, an environment that is experienced as more humane and reduced levels of reoffending. Originality/value The work of HMP Grendon offers a well established and evidenced approach to managing men who have committed serious violent and sexually violent offences. It also promotes and embodies a progressive approach to managing prisons rooted in the welfare tradition.

Risk of suicide in male prison inmates.

PubMed

Saavedra, Javier; López, Marcelino

2015-01-01

Many studies have demonstrated that the risk of suicide in prison is higher than in the general population. This study has two aims. First, to explore the risk of suicide in men sentenced in Andalusian prisons. And second, to study the sociodemographic, criminal and, especially, psychopathological factors associated with this risk. An assessment was made of 472 sentenced inmates in two Andalusian prisons, and included a sociodemographic interview, the IPDE personality disorders questionnaire, the SCID-I diagnostic interview (DSMIV), and the Plutchick suicide risk questionnaire. The interviewers were experienced clinical psychologists with training in prison environments. Adjusted ORs were calculated using a logistic regression. A risk of committing suicide was detected in 33.5% of the sample. The diagnoses (lifetime prevalence) of affective disorder (adjusted OR 3329), substance dependence disorders (adjusted OR 2733), personality disorders (adjusted OR 3115) and anxiety disorder (adjusted OR 1650), as well as a family psychiatric history (adjusted OR 1650), were the predictors that remained as risk factors after the regression analysis. No socio-demographic risk factor was significant in the regression analysis. The psychopathological variables are essential and the most powerful factors to explain suicide risk in prisons. A correct and systematic diagnosis, and an appropriate treatment by mental health professionals during the imprisonment are essential to prevent the risk of suicide. Copyright © 2013 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

The United States needs a WHO health in prisons project.

PubMed

Weinstein, C

2010-11-01

Some facts about imprisonment in the USA are used to justify the comment that US is a country that loves prisons. The lack of provision of rehabilitative type services is stressed and the example of Valley Fever in one area of California demonstrates the public health disasters which can occur with the present arrangements. The organisations concerned with prisons seem to support the idea of prisons as a business. The article is a plea for a WHO health in prisons project as the way forward. Copyright © 2010 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emergency department utilization among recently released prisoners: a retrospective cohort study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The population of ex-prisoners returning to their communities is large. Morbidity and mortality is increased during the period following release. Understanding utilization of emergency services by this population may inform interventions to reduce adverse outcomes. We examined Emergency Department utilization among a cohort of recently released prisoners. Methods We linked Rhode Island Department of Corrections records with electronic health record data from a large hospital system from 2007 to 2009 to analyze emergency department utilization for mental health disorders, substance use disorders and ambulatory care sensitive conditions by ex-prisoners in the year after release from prison in comparison to the general population, controlling for patient- and community-level factors. Results There were 333,369 total ED visits with 5,145 visits by a cohort of 1,434 ex-prisoners. In this group, 455 ex-prisoners had 3 or more visits within 1 year of release and 354 had a first ED visit within 1 month of release. ED visits by ex-prisoners were more likely to be made by men (85% vs. 48%, p < 0.001) and by blacks (26% vs. 16%, p < 0.001) compared to the Rhode Island general population. Ex-prisoners were more likely to have an ED visit for a mental health disorder (6% vs. 4%, p < 0.001) or substance use disorder (16%vs. 4%, p < 0.001). After controlling for patient- and community-level factors, ex-prisoner visits were significantly more likely to be for mental health disorders (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.27-1.61), substance use disorders (OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.77-2.11) and ambulatory care sensitive conditions (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.00-1.18). Conclusions ED visits by ex-prisoners were significantly more likely due to three conditions optimally managed in outpatient settings. Future work should determine whether greater access to outpatient services after release from prison reduces ex-prisoners’ utilization of emergency services. PMID:24188513

Neurocognitive impairment and suicide risk among prison inmates.

PubMed

Vadini, Francesco; Calella, Giulio; Pieri, Alessandro; Ricci, Elena; Fulcheri, Mario; Verrocchio, Maria Cristina; De Risio, Alfredo; Sciacca, Antonina; Santilli, Francesca; Parruti, Giustino

2018-01-01

Worldwide, prisoners are at high risk of suicide. Reducing the number of suicides in jails and prisons is an international priority. Several risk factors for suicide attempts, such as historical, prison-related, psychosocial and clinical factors, have been found in prisoners. We assessed whether demographic, conviction-related and neuro-behavioral variables might be associated with current suicide risk and lifetime suicide attempts in two large central Italy prisons. On a preliminary sample of 254 detainees within an ongoing project, we assessed whether demographic, conviction-related, psychiatric, cognitive variables and illness comorbidity might be associated with current suicide risk and lifetime suicide attempts in two large central Italy prisons. Psychiatric disorders and suicide risk was evaluated using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. We also have identified the detainees with clear-cut previous suicide attempts. The cognitive function was assessed with a brief neuropsychological battery including trail making A, trail making B, Digit Span, and Symbol Digit test. Impulsivity was assessed with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Cumulative illness was evaluated with Charlson Comorbidity Index. Impairment in global cognitive function was the strongest predictor of both high suicide risk and lifetime suicide attempts (both p < 0.001), independently of psychiatric disorders, psychopharmacological treatment, detention status, conviction time, substance use disorder, impulsivity, and illness comorbidity. Limitation LIMITATION: Cross-sectional study design and relatively small sample size. Cognitive deficits may improve our understanding of the suicidal vulnerability and should be systematically included in the assessment of suicide risk, as potential predictors of suicidal acts and targets of preventive interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Global fund financing of tuberculosis services delivery in prisons.

PubMed

Lee, Donna; Lal, S S; Komatsu, Ryuichi; Zumla, Alimuddin; Atun, Rifat

2012-05-15

Despite concerted efforts to scale up tuberculosis control with large amounts of international financing in the last 2 decades, tuberculosis continues to be a social issue affecting the world's most marginalized and disadvantaged communities. This includes prisoners, estimated at about 10 million globally, for whom tuberculosis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has emerged as the single largest international donor for tuberculosis control, including funding support in delivering tuberculosis treatment for the confined population. The Global Fund grants database, with an aggregate approved investment of $21.7 billion in 150 countries by the end of 2010, was reviewed to identify tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus/tuberculosis grants and activities that monitored the delivery of tuberculosis treatment and support activities in penitentiary settings. The distribution and trend of number of countries with tuberculosis prison support was mapped by year, geographic region, tuberculosis or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis burden, and prison population rate. We examined the types of grant recipients managing program delivery, their performance, and the nature and range of services provided. Fifty-three of the 105 countries (50%) with Global Fund-supported tuberculosis programs delivered services within prison settings. Thirty-two percent (73 of 228) of tuberculosis grants, representing $558 million of all disbursements of Global Fund tuberculosis support by the end of 2010, included output indicators related to tuberculosis services delivered in prisons. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of these grants were implemented by governments, with the remaining by civil society and other partners. In terms of services, half (36 of 73) of grants provided diagnosis and treatment and an additional 27% provided screening and monitoring of tuberculosis for prisoners. The range of services tracked was limited in scope

HIV and tuberculosis in prisons in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Telisinghe, Lilanganee; Charalambous, Salome; Topp, Stephanie M; Herce, Michael E; Hoffmann, Christopher J; Barron, Peter; Schouten, Erik J; Jahn, Andreas; Zachariah, Rony; Harries, Anthony D; Beyrer, Chris; Amon, Joseph J

2016-09-17

Given the dual epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa and evidence suggesting a disproportionate burden of these diseases among detainees in the region, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology of HIV and tuberculosis in prison populations, describe services available and challenges to service delivery, and identify priority areas for programmatically relevant research in sub-Saharan African prisons. To this end, we reviewed literature on HIV and tuberculosis in sub-Saharan African prisons published between 2011 and 2015, and identified data from only 24 of the 49 countries in the region. Where data were available, they were frequently of poor quality and rarely nationally representative. Prevalence of HIV infection ranged from 2·3% to 34·9%, and of tuberculosis from 0·4 to 16·3%; detainees nearly always had a higher prevalence of both diseases than did the non-incarcerated population in the same country. We identified barriers to prevention, treatment, and care services in published work and through five case studies of prison health policies and services in Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Nigeria, and Benin. These barriers included severe financial and human-resource limitations and fragmented referral systems that prevent continuity of care when detainees cycle into and out of prison, or move between prisons. These challenges are set against the backdrop of weak health and criminal-justice systems, high rates of pre-trial detention, and overcrowding. A few examples of promising practices exist, including routine voluntary testing for HIV and screening for tuberculosis upon entry to South African and the largest Zambian prisons, reforms to pre-trial detention in South Africa, integration of mental health services into a health package in selected Malawian prisons, and task sharing to include detainees in care provision through peer-educator programmes in Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa. However, substantial additional investments are

Naltrexone implants compared to methadone: outcomes six months after prison release.

PubMed

Lobmaier, Philipp P; Kunøe, Nikolaj; Gossop, Michael; Katevoll, Tormod; Waal, Helge

2010-01-01

After prison release, offenders with heroin use problems are at high risk of relapse and overdose death. There is a particular need for treatments that can be initiated in prison and continued after release into the community. Methadone maintenance treatment has been shown to reduce heroin use, criminality and mortality. Naltrexone implant treatment has not previously been evaluated in prison settings. This study compares the effects of naltrexone implants and methadone treatment on heroin and other illicit drug use, and criminality among heroin-dependent inmates after release from prison. Forty-six volunteers were randomly allocated to naltrexone implants or methadone before release. Intention-to-treat analyses showed reductions in both groups in frequency of use of heroin and benzodiazepines, as well as criminality, 6 months after prison release. Naltrexone implants may be a valuable treatment option in prison settings. 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Burden and Determinants of Smoking among Prisoners with Respiratory Tract Infection: A Cross-Sectional Study of Nine Major Prison Setups in Northern Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Abera, Semaw Ferede; Adane, Kelemework

2016-01-01

Background Morbidity, mortality and a wide range of associated risk factors are disproportionately clustered among prisoners compared to the general population. Smoking is one of the risk factors for the increased burden of unfavorable health outcomes particularly among prisoners. However, little is known about the level and determinants of smoking among the incarcerated population in Ethiopia. Methods We collected data from 738 prisoners in nine major prison setups in Tigray region by nurses and clinical officers. Data were entered in to Epi Data 3.1 and exported to stata 13.0 for cleaning and further analysis. Multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify determinants of smoking at p value of less than 5%. Result The prevalence of smoking was 21 per cent (95%CI = 18.2%, 24.1). Urban residence (AOR = 2.15; 95%CI = 1.20, 3.84), previous history of incarceration (AOR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.08, 3.40) and alcohol use before incarcerated (AOR = 4.20; 95%CI = 2.57, 6.87) were significantly associated with risk of smoking. In contrast, risk of smoking was significantly lower for farmers (AOR = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.08, 0.49), prisoners with family support (AOR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.32, 0.87) and for those who were jailed in Shire prison site (AOR = 0.43; 95%CI = 0.20, 0.95). Conclusion Our work clearly indicates that the observed smoking prevalence calls for the need of comprehensive and interdisciplinary interventions targeting prisoners. PMID:28030604

The HIV Prison Paradox: Agency and HIV-Positive Women's Experiences in Jail and Prison in Alabama.

PubMed

Sprague, Courtenay; Scanlon, Michael L; Radhakrishnan, Bharathi; Pantalone, David W

2017-08-01

Incarcerated women face significant barriers to achieve continuous HIV care. We employed a descriptive, exploratory design using qualitative methods and the theoretical construct of agency to investigate participants' self-reported experiences accessing HIV services in jail, in prison, and post-release in two Alabama cities. During January 2014, we conducted in-depth interviews with 25 formerly incarcerated HIV-positive women. Two researchers completed independent coding, producing preliminary codes from transcripts using content analysis. Themes were developed iteratively, verified, and refined. They encompassed (a) special rules for HIV-positive women: isolation, segregation, insults, food rationing, and forced disclosure; (b) absence of counseling following initial HIV diagnosis; and (c) HIV treatment impediments: delays, interruption, and denial. Participants deployed agentic strategies of accommodation, resistance, and care-seeking to navigate the social world of prison and HIV services. Findings illuminate the "HIV prison paradox": the chief opportunities that remain unexploited to engage and re-engage justice-involved women in the HIV care continuum.

Prison Industries: Turning Warehouses into Factories with Fences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burger, Warren E.

1985-01-01

Chief Justice Burger urges elected representatives and public administrators to rethink corrections policy and to study the costs and benefits of prison industries. A long-time advocate of prison industries, Chief Justice Burger reviews recent public-private sector ventures to reorient corrections policy. (Author/CT)

Male suicide rates in German prisons and the role of citizenship.

PubMed

Radeloff, Daniel; Lempp, Thomas; Kettner, Mattias; Rauf, Amna; Bennefeld-Kersten, Katharina; Freitag, Christine M

2017-01-01

Prisoners are at a particularly high risk of suicide. In contrast to other psychosocial risk factors it remains unclear to what degree the risk of suicide differs between prisoners with local citizenship and foreigners. In order to provide more detailed information for suicide prevention in prisons, this study aims to compare suicide rates (SR) between these populations in German criminal custody. Based on a German national database of completed suicide in custody, suicides by prisoners were analysed and compared with epidemiological data of the prison population and the general population, stratified for German and foreign citizenship. Data analysis was adjusted for differences in the age distribution of both populations by calculating standard mortality ratios (SMR) for suicide. SR were higher in prisoners with German citizenship than those with foreign citizenship (SR = 76.5 vs. SR = 42.8, P<0.01). This association was not specific to the prison population, as the higher SR in citizens compared to non-citizens (SR = 19.3 vs. SR = 9.0, P<0.01) were also found in the general population. The association between prison suicide and citizenship was comparable in juvenile and adult prisoners, indicating its relevance to both the juvenile and adult detention systems. Imprisonment is associated with a substantially increased risk of suicide in both German and non-German citizens, a finding which needs to be taken into consideration by the justice system. The lower suicide risk in non-German citizens is independent of whether or not they are in custody.

Male suicide rates in German prisons and the role of citizenship

PubMed Central

Lempp, Thomas; Kettner, Mattias; Rauf, Amna; Bennefeld-Kersten, Katharina; Freitag, Christine M.

2017-01-01

Purpose Prisoners are at a particularly high risk of suicide. In contrast to other psychosocial risk factors it remains unclear to what degree the risk of suicide differs between prisoners with local citizenship and foreigners. In order to provide more detailed information for suicide prevention in prisons, this study aims to compare suicide rates (SR) between these populations in German criminal custody. Methods Based on a German national database of completed suicide in custody, suicides by prisoners were analysed and compared with epidemiological data of the prison population and the general population, stratified for German and foreign citizenship. Data analysis was adjusted for differences in the age distribution of both populations by calculating standard mortality ratios (SMR) for suicide. Results SR were higher in prisoners with German citizenship than those with foreign citizenship (SR = 76.5 vs. SR = 42.8, P<0.01). This association was not specific to the prison population, as the higher SR in citizens compared to non-citizens (SR = 19.3 vs. SR = 9.0, P<0.01) were also found in the general population. The association between prison suicide and citizenship was comparable in juvenile and adult prisoners, indicating its relevance to both the juvenile and adult detention systems. Conclusion Imprisonment is associated with a substantially increased risk of suicide in both German and non-German citizens, a finding which needs to be taken into consideration by the justice system. The lower suicide risk in non-German citizens is independent of whether or not they are in custody. PMID:28591187

Socioeconomic factors associated with drug consumption in prison population in Mexico

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Consumption of illegal drugs is a public health problem in Mexico, and the prison population is a vulnerable group with higher rates of prevalence than in the general population. The objective of this study was to determine the main socioeconomic variables associated with drug consumption in the prison population. Methods Utilizing data from the Second Incarcerated Population Survey carried out by the Centre of Research and Teaching of Economics (CIDE) in Mexico, a logistic model in two stages was developed. The first stage analyzed the determinants of habitual drug consumption by prisoners (prior to admittance into prisons), while the second stage of the model addressed drug consumption within prisons. Results Prevalence of drug consumption previous to incarceration was 28.5%, although once people were imprisoned this figure dropped to 7.4%. The characteristics that most heavily influenced against the possibility of habitual drug consumption prior to admittance to prison were: preparatory school or higher, being employed and having children; while the variables associated negatively were: male gender, childhood home shared with adults who consumed illegal drugs; abandoning childhood home; and having previous prison sentences. Once in prison, the negative conditions in there are associated with drug consumption. Conclusions Work and study during incarceration, in addition to being instruments for rehabilitation, seem to exert an important positive association against drug consumption. However, this correlation seems to be minimized in the face of negative conditions of the penal institution; thus, public policies are necessary to improve the prisoner's environment. PMID:22244315

Gambling and problem gambling among recently sentenced male prisoners in four New Zealand prisons.

PubMed

Abbott, Max W; McKenna, Brian G; Giles, Lynne C

2005-01-01

Recently sentenced inmates in four New Zealand male prisons (N = 357) were interviewed to assess their gambling involvement, problem gambling and criminal offending. Frequent participation in and high expenditure on continuous forms of gambling prior to imprisonment were reported. Nineteen percent said they had been in prison for a gambling-related offence and most of this offending was property-related and non-violent. On the basis of their SOGS-R scores, 21% were lifetime probable pathological gamblers and 16% were probable pathological gamblers during the six months prior to imprisonment. Of the "current" problem gamblers, 51% reported gambling-related offending and 35% had been imprisoned for a crime of this type. Gambling-related offending increased with problem gambling severity. However, only five percent of problem gamblers said their early offending was gambling-related. The large majority reported other types of offending at this time. Few men had sought or received help for gambling problems prior to imprisonment or during their present incarceration. This highlights the potential for assessment and treatment programs in prison to reduce recidivism and adverse effects of problem gambling and gambling-related offending.

Prison Meditation Movements and Mass Incarceration.

PubMed

Lyons, Thomas; Cantrell, W Dustin

2016-09-01

By some estimates, more than half of inmates held in jails and prisons in the United States have a substance use disorder. Treatments involving the teaching of meditation and other contemplative practices have been developed for a variety of physical and mental disorders, including drug and alcohol addiction. At the same time, an expanding volunteer movement across the country has been bringing meditation and yoga into jails and prisons. This review first examines the experimental research on one such approach-mindfulness meditation as a treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, as well as the research on mindfulness in incarcerated settings. We argue that to make a substantial impact on recidivism, such programs must mirror volunteer programs which emphasize interdependency and non-duality between the "helper" and the "helped," and the building of meditation communities both inside and outside of prison. © The Author(s) 2015.

HIV testing and counselling in Estonian prisons, 2012 to 2013: aims, processes and impacts.

PubMed

Kivimets, K; Uuskula, A

2014-11-27

We present data from an observational cohort study on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and control measures in prisons in Estonia to assess the potential for HIV transmission in this setting. HIV testing and retesting data from the Estonian prison health department were used to estimate HIV prevalence and incidence in prison. Since 2002, voluntary HIV counselling and testing has routinely been offered to all prisoners and has been part of the new prisoners health check. At the end of 2012, there were 3,289 prisoners in Estonia, including 170 women: 28.5% were drug users and 15.6% were infected with HIV. Of the HIV-positive inmates, 8.3% were newly diagnosed on prison entry. In 2012, 4,387 HIV tests (including retests) were performed in Estonian prisons. Among 1,756 initially HIV-negative prisoners who were in prison for more than one year and therefore tested for HIV twice within 12 months (at entry and annual testing), one new HIV infection was detected, an incidence of 0.067 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.025–5.572). This analysis indicates low risk of HIV transmission in Estonian prisons. Implementation of HIV management interventions could impact positively on the health of prisoners and the communities to which they return.

Mental health consultations in a prison population: a descriptive study

PubMed Central

Kjelsberg, Ellen; Hartvig, Paal; Bowitz, Harald; Kuisma, Irene; Norbech, Peder; Rustad, Aase-Bente; Seem, Marthe; Vik, Tom-Gunnar

2006-01-01

Background The psychiatric morbidity among prison inmates is substantially higher than in the general population. We do, however, have insufficient knowledge about the extent of psychiatric treatment provided in our prisons. The aim of the present study was to give a comprehensive description of all non-pharmacological interventions provided by the psychiatric health services to a stratified sample of prison inmates. Methods Six medium/large prisons (n = 928) representing 1/3 of the Norwegian prison population and with female and preventive detention inmates over-sampled, were investigated cross-sectionally. All non-pharmacological psychiatric interventions, excluding pure correctional programs, were recorded. Those receiving interventions were investigated further and compared to the remaining prison population. Results A total of 230 of the 928 inmates (25 %) had some form of psychiatric intervention: 184 (20 %) were in individual psychotherapy, in addition 40 (4 %) received ad hoc interventions during the registration week. Group therapy was infrequent (1 %). The psychotherapies were most often of a supportive (62 %) or behavioural-cognitive (26 %) nature. Dynamic, insight-oriented psychotherapies were infrequent (8 %). Concurrent psychopharmacological treatment was prevalent (52 %). Gender and age did not correlate with psychiatric interventions, whereas prisoner category (remanded, sentenced, or preventive detention) did (p < 0.001). Most inmates had a number of defined problem areas, with substance use, depression, anxiety, and personality disorders most prevalent. Three percent of all inmates were treated for a psychotic disorder. Remand prisoners averaged 14 sessions per week per 100 inmates, while sentenced inmates and those on preventive detention averaged 22 and 25 sessions per week per 100 inmates, respectively. Five out of six psychiatric health services estimated the inmates' psychiatric therapy needs as adequately met, both overall and in the

[Primary health care in a prison environment, the Cameroon experience].

PubMed

Demoures, B; Nkodo-Nkodo, E; Mbam-Mbam, L

1998-01-01

People isolated from their families, such as prisoners, are the most vulnerable to the consequences of the economic crisis in Africa. Some non-governmental organizations are taking action to improve health care conditions in prisons. We describe herein such a project, conducted in the town of Ngaoundéré, Adamaoua Province, Cameroon. The prison houses 400 prisoners, mostly men. Catholic missionaries have been involved in improving conditions since 1988, at the request of a magistrate from the local tribunal. They have introduced a community store, handicrafts and the teaching of reading and writing, carried out by the prisoners themselves. The Catholic Health Service was asked to join the project in October 1992. Its participation was part of the provincial policy of collaboration between private and public organizations for the improvement of health institutions. Meetings between health workers and prisoners first created an opportunity for the prisoners to talk about their concerns and what they wanted. A health committee, consisting of about 10 prisoners took several initiatives related to hygiene. Access to curative care was then improved by increasing the stock of medicines to include 37 drugs, standardizing the therapeutic recommendations (including those of the national program against tuberculosis) and increasing the prisoners' access to health care by making the pharmacy self-sufficient. The pharmacy's prices are low and the wardens and their families are encouraged to use it. Any profit made goes towards a "solidarity fund" managed by the prisoners, which enables them to buy their own drugs (3 to 5 patients are seen each day by the nurse). The link between money entering the system and the supply of drugs was studied. Most of the diseases reported between July 1994 and July 1995 were infectious, including scabies infections and acute respiratory infections (mean of 5 cases per month). Fifteen cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed and treated. AIDS was not