Mental health needs assessment of prisoners

Back to nature? Attention restoration theory and the restorative effects of nature contact in prison

“…Survey self-completion is problematic in prison for several reasons: prisoners may not necessarily understand all items, standardized psychological test instruments may not be user-friendly, and language used may not reflect own perceptions and meanings; those with poor literacy skills, or who do not read or write English as a first language may not be able to respond; and response bias is also a potential problem, where response rates are low (Anthony and McFadyen, 2005). For mitigation, the questionnaire was short, and written in clear and concise language.…”

Women’s Health in Queensland Prisons

“…These deficits in health care provision in women’s prisons have flow-on effects beyond the immediate impacts on physical and mental health. Minimising physical and mental health concerns of women prisoners has a number of potential benefits including allowing women prisoners to more easily integrate into family and employment on release (Wilper et al, 2009) and, by addressing underlying issues, help reduce their likelihood of recidivism (Anthony & McFadyen, 2005; Forsythe & Adams, 2009). Moreover, failure to address issues such as substance abuse in prison contributes to future crime and parole violations (Wolf et al, 2007).…”

“…Prison offers an opportunity to provide health interventions to a population that would otherwise be difficult to reach (Gatherer et al, 2009). Returning women to the community with improved physical and mental health can prevent the spread of communicable diseases between prison and the community (Lindberg & Huang, 2006) and reduce the likelihood of recidivism (Anthony & McFadyen, 2005; Forsythe & Adams, 2009). While women have been found to utilise prison health services more frequently than male prisoners, the adequacy of the services has been criticised (AIHW, 2011; Carlen & Worrall, 2004; Smith, 2000; Smith & Borland, 1999).…”

“…Prison therefore provides an opportunity to provide health interventions tailored to an otherwise difficult to access population (Gatherer, Møller, & Hayton, 2009). Improving the physical and mental health of women returning to the community may, by addressing underlying issues, help reduce their likelihood of recidivism (Anthony & McFadyen, 2005; Forsythe & Adams, 2009). Achieving improved health care for incarcerated women is therefore an important objective for public health and crime reduction purposes, as well as being a fundamental human right (Exworthy, Wilson, & Forrester, 2011).…”

Personality and Symptoms of Psychological Ill Health Among Adult Male Offenders

“…It has previously been suggested that personality should be taken into account when designing and administering anger management programs within prisons (Wood & Newton, 2003) and this flexibility may enhance the success of current treatment programs. Anthony and McFadyen (2005) find considerable similarity between prisoners with respect to mental health symptoms (with the exception of psychotic symptoms), highlighting the importance of research in this area and the need for effective interventions. Together, these practical applications of the present findings are consistent with the description of personality traits as "potentially useful for screening purposes, for example, identifying individual differences in a clinically relevant population that may be useful for treatment targeting in that population" (Shadel, Cervone, Niaura, & Abrams, 2004, p. 185).…”