Prevalence and Screening of Mental Illness among Remand Prisoners in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to validate the Correctional Mental Health Screen (CMHS) in the Hong Kong prison population and determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among remand prisoners in Hong Kong and the associated factors of mental illness. Methods: This cohort study was conducted at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre and the Tai Lam Centre for Women in Hong Kong. Remand prisoners aged ≥21 years were recruited between May and August 2014. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. Each remand prisoner was assessed using the appropriate CMHS for males or for females, then interviewed by a specialist psychiatrist using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for current affective disorder and psychotic disorder for crossvalidation. Results: A total of 245 remand prisoners were recruited (150 males and 95 females; mean age, 25.8 years). Of them, 51% (55% males and 44% females) had a lifetime history of psychiatric disorder, whereas 39.6% (46% males and 29.5% females) had a current psychiatric disorder. The most common psychiatric disorder was substance use disorder (>36%), followed by mood disorder (>20%), psychotic disorder (5.3%), and lifetime neurotic disorder (3.7%). Living in a public housing estate (odds ratio [OR] = 1.99), a history of childhood conduct problem (OR = 2.40), and a forensic history (OR = 1.97) were associated with an increased risk of having a psychiatric disorder. The CMHS had good diagnostic efficiency after cross-validation with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Conclusion: Psychiatric disorders are prevalent in remand prisoners in Hong Kong. The CMHS is an effective tool to screen remand prisoners for timely treatment of prisoners with mental health needs.

Screening of psychiatric morbidity in a male only prison

“…10 However, in the studies done in other parts of the world, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was much higher. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity done among 119 prisoners in Kerala, India was 69.7%, 11 57% in Jos, Nigeria 1 done among 608 prisoners, 46% in Hong Kong among 150 prisoners 12 and 45.06% in Attica, Greece among 495 prisoners . 13 Likewise, suicidality was present among 3.47% of the prisoners of Nakkhu Jail in this study.…”

Evidence-based Interventions Targeting Remand Prisoners: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Considering the pharmacological interventions, we concluded that all of them target drug abuse problems, which is known to be a considerable problem among pre-trial detainees (Chow et al, 2018;Eytan et al, 2011;Mason et al, 1997;Scott et al, 2015). Indeed, drugrelated disorders are very common among these individuals, and recent evidence showed that such conditions are frequently associated with other comorbid problems (Andrade et al, 2022).…”

Forensic Psychiatric Services in Hong Kong

“…The current issue of the East Asian Archives of Psychiatry has a theme on forensic psychiatry. Siu et al 3 reviewed the characteristics of 4492 mentally ill offenders seen by psychiatrists at the SLPC and explored the current utilisation of forensic psychiatric services as a basis for service review and reform. The sample is representative of the forensic psychiatric services.…”