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PubMed2003

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

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.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

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

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.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Hospice care for prisoners: establishing an inmate-staffed hospice program in a prison medical facility.

U.S. Prison populations are expanding at an explosive rate and many more men and women are dying in prison, often with little attention given to their unique psychological, palliative, and spiritual care needs. This paper describes the development of an innovative hospice program at a major federal prison hospital designed to meet those needs: an inmate-staffed, hospice volunteer program. A brief history of the program's start-up and development, data on the initial six month pilot program and evaluation, a set of program standards and guidelines, and recommendations for further development are presented as a model for future hospice programs in prison medical facilities.

Hospices↗
PubMed2000

Drugs and prisoners: treatment needs on entering prison.

An interview study was conducted among a group of incoming prisoners in a county jail in Ohio during the summers of 1997 and 1998 to assess their current drug treatment needs. "Incoming prisoners" refers to individuals who were being transferred from this county jail to the state prison system. Marijuana and cocaine were the most commonly tried illegal drugs among the subjects as well as the drugs of choice during the month prior to imprisonment. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule, combined with questions employed in the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) project, was used to construct the questionnaire for this study. Based on the criteria of DSM-IV diagnoses, 57.5% of those interviewed had exhibited drug dependency at some point in their lives, and 51% were currently dependent on some substance. Thus, more than half of the incoming prisoners were in need of treatment for use of at least one substance. Cocaine dependence was the greatest problem facing this group of inmates, with an especially notable problem among the older females. Younger males were more likely to have current marijuana dependence. The study found that individuals currently dependent on cocaine or opiates perceived that they had a need for drug treatment, while those currently dependent on marijuana did not share this perception.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Services for prisoners with alcohol-related problems: a survey of U.K. prisons.

Offenders have been identified as heavy drinkers who admit to a relationship between drinking and offending. Many prisoners express a desire to reduce their alcohol consumption. The extent of alcohol interventions in U.K. prisons was unknown and so a postal survey was conducted to gather basic information about current work. Of all responding establishments, 91% claimed to provide services for prisoners with alcohol-related problems and 58% gave details of these services. Services are provided mainly by probation officers/social workers, prison officers and Alcoholics Anonymous. Group and individual interventions are described. Service development has been haphazard, lacking central co-ordination. A case is made for appointment of a central facilitator responsible for staff training, establishing a communications network, encouraging new interventions to match clients' needs, encouraging closer links with community workers and guiding evaluative research.

Alcoholism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prison health care: what is it that makes prison nursing unique?

Nursing in the prison service is an emerging area of practice and is becoming increasingly recognized for the benefits nurses provide to patient/prisoner care. This article, the second in a series of articles on prison nursing, highlights some of the current issues that face prison nurses. Also one person's experience of shadowing a prison nurse is described.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1998

Prisoners as patients. The experience of delivering mental health nursing care in an Australian prison.

Correctional or prison mental health nursing is a highly specialized area of practice that has undergone substantive role development in recent years. However, little research has explored aspects of prison-based nursing practice or practice arrangements. The experience of delivering mental health nursing care in prison can be disempowering, resulting in feelings of frustration, isolation, and stigma. In developed nations, prison mental health nurses face the rewarding challenge of gaining greater recognition for the specialized nature of their practice and their key role in the correctional and criminal justice continuum.

Female↗
PubMed1989

[Prisons and HIV. A review of HIV epidemics in 4 prisons in the Oslo area].

It is very likely that the degree of HIV-seropositive prevalence in prisons reflects the HIV epidemic among drug users outside prisons. A thorough epidemiologic survey among prisoners is therefore important. 23% of all known HIV-positive male drug users in Norway have been diagnosed at Oslo Kretsfengsel. The minimum seroprevalence of HIV among the drug users in this prison is 10%. Of the persons detained in Oslo Kretsfengsel who were tested two times or more during their term of imprisonment in 1987 and 1988, none seroconverted.

Female↗
PubMed2004

Muslims in prison: a case study from Ohio state prisons.

The present study explores core issues related to the understudied population of Muslim inmates. Mail questionnaires were sent to the full-time chaplains employed by religious services in thirty Ohio state male prisons. The survey examines: (1) characteristics of Muslim inmates, (2) patterns of identification with Islam, (3) religious behavior inside the prisons, and (4) relations between conversion to Islam and crime committed. Our findings indicate that while the vast majority of Muslim inmates are African-American, they are otherwise similar to the incarcerated population in terms of age, education, and marital status. Most of the Muslims in our sample converted while incarcerated. The devotion of Muslim prisoners in the sample tends to be high as demonstrated by adherence to central religious practices. Finally, we found no relationship between crime and conversion to Islam inside prison. Although our data must be understood as tentative, it offers a basis for further investigation of this population of inmates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

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

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.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

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

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.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Deaths among inmates in the institutions of the Prison Service. Deaths in prisons, county jails etc].

The purpose of the study is to investigate the number and the character of deaths during stays in prisons, county goals etc. During the study period from 1992-1996 with approx. 38,000 imprisonments per year there were 74 deaths, 71 males and three females. The average age was 32.4 years. Approximately 16% had foreign citizenship. Twenty had leave, legal or illegal when death occurred. There were 34 suicides, 22 accidents, 3 homicides and 15 cases of natural death. Several deaths took place relatively shortly after the arrival at the institution, one third within a week. The most frequently used suicidal method was hanging. The accidents were dominated by poisoning deaths, often with morphines, possibly in combination with alcohol or other drugs. Two of the three homicides took place during leave. Among natural deaths, heart death was the most frequent cause of death with six of 10 unexpected deaths. Among expected deaths in prison there were three AIDS patients. Fourteen of the fifteen natural deaths had a substantial alcohol consumption and/or drug abuse. There ought to be a central registration of deaths in prisons and similar institutions. The autopsy frequency should be high, and forensic chemical investigation should be used more often. Drug dependent inmates should be informed about reduced tolerance to drugs in relation to release and leave.

Accidents↗
PubMed2000

[Medical discretion versus the duty to inform of physicians in prisons--from the view of the prison physicians].

The basic principle of medical discretion within the prisons and penal organs is regulated under section 182 StVollzG. It is advisable for the physicians as well as for the members of penal organs to handle the principle of medical discretion in prison with a great care and hence to encourage a better understanding and cooperation between the physicians and the patients in custody. The physicians should have the responsibility to administer the adequate diagnostic, treatment and meet relevant decisions within the existing regulations. The primary medical examination within the first 24 hrs in custody should be regarded as the central issue of the health care for the prisoners. The results of the examination should as well be under the above mentioned medical discretion. The section 182 StVollzG should be explained in a simplified and understandable form prior the primary medical examination has been done.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1993

The prisoner's prisoner: the theme of voluntary imprisonment in the staff of correctional facilities.

The staff of correctional facilities voluntarily work in prisons. It seems plausible that the professionals, officers, and administrators engaged in such employment may have unconscious feelings of a desire or need for punishment. This topic does, in fact, appear common in the jokes and casual conversation in such facilities, perhaps indicating such an underlying theme. Indeed, those employees who were willing to discuss their experience in more depth corroborated the hypothesis. A sense of a need or desire for punishment in a staff's members may profoundly affect the prisoner's transference with the staff, and the staff's countertransference. These feelings may affect the many important decisions of correctional and clinical staff in prisons and related settings.

Career Choice↗
PubMed1992

A survey of university-prison collaboration and computerized tracking systems in prisons.

It is conservatively estimated that 8 percent of inmates in U.S. prisons have significant psychiatric impairment. Correctional mental health systems are often unable to provide adequate treatment to such inmates because of staff recruitment problems. Collaboration between universities and departments of corrections can help solve recruitment problems, and needs assessment studies and computerized tracking systems can help obtain needed resources. A national survey collected data on collaborations between universities and corrections departments and on needs assessment and computerized tracking systems in prisons. Results indicated that such collaborations exist in more than half of state prison systems. Of 42 states responding, only ten states reported having systemwide computerized tracking systems, but others are in the process of developing such systems. Two-thirds of the correctional mental health systems did not have an ongoing needs assessment program.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2006

Actuarial models for assessing prison violence risk: revisions and extensions of the Risk Assessment Scale for Prison (RASP).

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 remaining throughout 2003 (N=14,088). A near replication of the RASP-Potosi and additional analyses based on other weighted logistic regression models were performed on an inmate subsample for whom all information categories were available (n=13,341). Younger age and shorter sentences were associated with increased violent misconduct. Older age, drug conviction, and higher educational attainment were associated with reduced violent misconduct. Regardless of whether the original RASP-Potosi or its progeny were utilized, or the custody level of the inmate sample, the models were modestly successful in predicting prison violence, with the area under the curve (AUC) ranging from .645 to .707.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1995

The Belmarsh Scheme. A prospective study of the transfer of mentally disordered remand prisoners from prison to psychiatric units.

BACKGROUND: Contracting in psychiatric services from the NHS into prisons has been advocated to improve the care of the mentally disordered in custody. The Belmarsh Scheme is such a service. METHOD: A prospective study investigating the characteristics of a six-month cohort of remand prisoners requiring transfer to hospital and evaluating the service's effectiveness. RESULTS: Fifty-three (4.3%; 95% CL 3.2% to 5.6%) of the 1229 new remands required transfer to hospital; all were accepted. The transfer group contained a higher proportion of black men (51%) than all other remands (30%) (difference 21%; 95% CL 8% to 35%, P = 0.002). Transfer times were lower than those reported for a neighbouring prison. CONCLUSIONS: The Belmarsh Scheme secured in-patient psychiatric care rapidly for all those identified as needing it.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

South African prisoner wins payout after prison HIV infection.

An ex-prisoner who sued South Africa's prison authorities after contracting HIV has obtained a landmark payout--the first time the South African government has been held accountable for the spread of HIV in overpopulated prisons, Reuters reported on 12 February 2003.

HIV Infections↗