Editorial

Citation

MacDonald, M., Greifinger, R. and Kane, D. (2012), "Editorial", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 8 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijph.2012.62108baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Prisoner Health, Volume 8, Issue 2

Welcome to issue 8(2) of the journal.

This Editorial introduces the broad range of papers in issue 8(2) of the journal. It is followed by a Guest editorial – a short opinion piece by Jamie Fellner from Human Rights Watch, in which she shares her reflections on the challenges faced by prisons in the USA as a result of the growing number of elderly prisoners.

Papers

Lesley Graham, Stephen Heller-Murphy, Lucy Aitken and Andrew McAuley report on a study that aimed to measure the nature and prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in adult male prisoners on remand in a prison in Scotland. The authors provide background information on the problem noting that 44 percent of male and 48 percent of female prisoners in Scotland are likely to have an alcohol problem on admission, compared to 13 percent of men and 9 percent of women in the general population. Further, they note that the proportion of young offenders who consider alcohol to be a factor in their offending has risen from 58 percent in 1996 to 80 percent in 2007. The study reported here aimed to add to the limited evidence in this field by conducting a screening study to detect the prevalence of alcohol problems in remand prisoners. These are prisoners who are in custody for a limited period of time and whose release might be at very short notice. Additionally, remand prisoners may not have access to specialist alcohol services whilst in prison. Screening was undertaken using the World Health Organisation’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) tool. Prevalence of alcohol problems within the sample was high with almost three quarters considered to have an AUD. While recognizing limitations, the authors note that the potential of prison as an environment for the identification and treatment of alcohol problems in an often difficult to reach population has been confirmed as has the use of AUDIT as an appropriate and effective screening tool in the criminal justice setting. They also conclude that alcohol should not be viewed exclusively from other issues, or prioritised ahead of them; rather it should be viewed equally within a holistic approach to treatment and care.

In our second paper, Coral Sirdifield and Charlie Brooker examine the health needs of detainees in police custody in Northumbria, England with a view to identifying any gaps in the current model of healthcare provision and recommending possible improvements to the system. The study combines two methods of health needs assessment: first, current service provision and possible areas for improvement were investigated through a combination of existing evidence from recent inspection and research reports and semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of key police and healthcare staff from across the area. Second, the frequency and range of health problems experienced by detainees was investigated. The authors’ findings indicate that detainees in police custody experience a wide range of health problems which might require active management during detention. Issues frequently encountered include drug and alcohol misuse problems, injuries, and mental health problems in detainees including risk of self-harm. The authors conclude that detainees in police custody experience a wide range of health problems that require active management during detention. Provision could be improved by increasing the skill-mix in custody, computerising medical assessments undertaken by examiners, ensuring regular communication between health and criminal justice staff and agencies and improving training for staff working in custody environments.

In our final paper of this issue Morag MacDonald, James Williams and David Kane analyse the extent of throughcare provision for prisoners with problematic drug use in a European context. Research demonstrates that there are examples of good practice of throughcare provision for prisoners with problematic drug use in many parts of the world. However, evidence from recent work carried out in Europe indicates that the implementation of throughcare services for this group of prisoners is limited and ineffective in some EU member states. The paper explores the reasons for such failure and identifies the barriers to implementing effective throughcare for this particular group of prisoners. The findings indicate that one of the key barriers to implementation of effective throughcare is availability of resources, which impacts on the provision of support services, attitudes and training of staff and, ultimately, continuity of care.

Morag MacDonald, Robert Greifinger, David Kane