Editorial

Citation

MacDonald, M., Greifinger, R. and Kane, D. (2013), "Editorial", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 9 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijph.2013.62109aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Prisoner Health, Volume 9, Issue 1

Welcome to volume 9, issue 1 of the International Journal of Prisoner Health – the first of 2013.

We are pleased to report that the journal is gaining fresh momentum following the transfer to Emerald. The profile of IJPH is being raised thanks to the efforts of the Emerald team and, as a result, the number of submissions has increased considerably. On the administrative side, we have transferred to an automated review system (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijph) that will help to streamline the process of peer review. We have always aimed to provide our prospective authors with a speedy and efficient service and the automated system will help in this regard. However, we are also conscious that authors sometimes like the personal touch – we are always happy to respond to queries in person and engage in discussion over published papers. The latter, in fact, is actively encouraged; if you wish to respond to issues raised by papers in the journal then please get in touch – we will be delighted to hear from you.

Papers

In this issue, we have a selection of papers with an international flavour. Olga Morozova, Lyuba Azbel, Yevgeny Grishaev, Sergii Dvoryak, Jeffrey A. Wickersham and Frederick L. Altice open with a paper that assesses reentry challenges faced by Ukrainian prisoners. Of particular interest to the authors were the factors associated with having a greater number of challenges as identification of such factors could suggest a range of pre- and post-release interventions aimed at facilitating community reintegration. The authors report that the most difficult and relatively important challenges identified were finding employment or a stable source of income and staying out of prison following release. Risk-specific challenges pertinent to drug users and HIV-infected individuals were assessed as difficult, but generally less important. Similarly, challenges associated with reducing drug relapse were ranked as less important, with only a minority identifying opioid substitution therapy as a helpful measure. Analysis of the data revealed that having a greater number of challenges is associated with previous incarcerations, drug use immediately before incarceration and lower levels of social support. The authors conclude that to facilitate community re-integration, it is vital to design interventions that aim to reduce recidivism and improve social support through comprehensive case management. It is also necessary to improve understanding about and address drug dependence issues among prisoners by implementing evidence-based treatment both within prisons and after release.

In our second paper, Jean-Pierre Rieder, Alejandra Casillas, Gérard Mary, Anne-Dominique Secretan, Jean-Michel Gaspoz and Hans Wolff report on an initiative to re-organize and provide health care at all six post-trial prison facilities in Geneva, Switzerland. As Geneva’s post-trial prisons are small and close to each other in geographical proximity, the solution adopted was the creation of a health mobile team (HMT). The authors describe how the multidisciplinary mobile team operated as a community ambulatory care model following its launch in all prison facilities in Geneva. Also described is the implementation strategy, which involved health providers partnering with prison and community stakeholders in the health delivery model’s development and adaption process. The authors note that the creation of the HMT was a practical solution to some of the common challenges faced when attempting to unify the structure and process of health services across multiple small facilities, while also meeting European prison health and local quality standards.

In their paper, Stephanie E. Perrett, Noel Craine and Marion Lyons describe the strategies being put in place to develop blood borne virus (BBV) services across prisons in Wales, UK in response to the recommendations for prisons within the Welsh Government’s Blood Borne Viral Hepatitis Action Plan for Wales. The authors note that a task and finish group was established to ensure multidisciplinary engagement between healthcare and custody staff, while a service improvement package was also developed that focused on awareness raising and/or development of clinical services for prisoners, prison officers and prison healthcare staff. The authors report that prison healthcare staff have undergone training in BBVs and are being supported to deliver clinical services to prisoners; training has been delivered in pre-post-test discussion and dried blood spot testing and care pathways have been established between prison and community specialists for treatment referrals. An e-learning module is being rolled out to raise awareness amongst custody staff and encourage occupational hepatitis B vaccination and literature on “liver health” has been produced to be given to every prisoner across Wales. The authors conclude that new initiatives that have been established to tackle BBVs across Welsh prisons will also be relevant to any prison healthcare staff looking to develop similar services.

In the issues final paper, Michael D. Alpert, Jeffrey A. Wickersham, Mariana Vázquez and Frederick L. Altice report on a study that characterizes the substance abuse patterns of HIV-infected prisoners in Argentina and assesses the independent correlates of receipt of pre-incarceration antiretroviral therapy (ART). As the basis for their investigation, the authors note that although Argentina has significantly improved access to HIV care and ART for the general population and prisoners, the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among HIV-infected prisoners and their relationship to accessing ART in Argentina is currently unknown. The authors report that a majority of participants in the study met criteria for AUDs, 45 per cent of subjects were diagnosed with HIV in prison and one-quarter had initiated ART during the current incarceration. Additionally, over one-third (35 per cent) of participants did not receive ART during the pre-incarceration period despite receiving it upon incarceration; this correlated significantly with the presence of having an AUD. The authors conclude that AUDs are prevalent among the HIV-infected prisoners in Argentina and are significantly related to negative secondary HIV prevention and treatment outcomes. It is argued that although Argentina has provided an exemplary model of HIV-related health care reform within its prisons, future efforts to provide screening and treatment for AUDs are needed to improve the health of the nation’s incarcerated population.

Morag MacDonald, Robert Greifinger, David Kane