Background: Majority of prison inmates live in poor living conditions. Lack of meaningful activity, endemic substance abuse, recurrent violence and sexual exploitation, loss of freedom, separation from family and friends, uncertainty about the future, and the traumas of prison life all contribute to making living in prison a stressful experience. Prison inmates usually apply inappropriate copin...

OBJECTIVE The study explores whether auricular acupuncture can be a viable treatment form for inmates in prison psychiatric units. METHOD Inmates in a prison psychiatric unit and in a support unit for violent behavior were offered group treatment with auricular acupuncture three times a week over a period of 9 months. Another prison psychiatric unit served as a control group. RESULTS Twenty...

Nurses who go to work in prisons begin their new career without having had any specific preparation for this unique and diverse role. The demands placed upon nurses are unlike any they will have experienced in their previous clinical posts. The work of a nurse in prison contains elements of both mental health nursing and practice nursing. The context in which this nursing occurs means that the ...

ôbjective: substance abuse is commonly associated with psychiatric disorders including mood disorders (especially depression), personality disorders and psychosis. the purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of methadone on depressive symptoms of imprisoned intravenous substance user. methods: this semi-experimental study was conducted on intravenous drug abusers in pris...

The role of the prison has changed, in some ways dramatically, over the last two decades. The prison population has grown and its composition has altered. There has been an increase in the depth and weight of imprisonment, and a hardening of its emotional tone. Prisoners' voices have been silenced, outcomes have deteriorated, and yet public presentation of the prison has improved. Power has shi...

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...

Research Summary: Prior macro-level studies examining the impact of prison population growth on crime rates have produced widely varying results. Studies using national-level time series data find large impacts of prison growth on crime, whereas those using state panel data find more modest ones. Critics of the former studies maintain that the estimates are implausibly large, arguing that the e...

BACKGROUND Prison populations are known to be at high risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood borne viruses (BBVs). In accordance with State health guidelines, the Western Australian Department of Correctional Services' policy is to offer testing for STIs and BBVs to all new prison entrants. This audit was undertaken to assess the completeness and timeliness of STI and BBV test...

AIMS To determine the effects of 1) a condom distribution program and 2) a condom distribution program combined with opt-out sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening on the transmission and prevalence of STIs in a prison system. METHODS Using data from an implementation evaluation of a state-wide prison condom program and parameter estimates from available literature, a deterministic mo...

BACKGROUND Social capital has been shown to be a valuable resource for improving health outcomes. However, it has received little attention in the prison setting. Dimensions of social capital in mainstream society are likely to function differently among inmates in prison. This study seeks to identify and understand social capital dimensions among incarcerated men living with hepatitis C. MET...