Psychiatric disorders and management of sexual offenders in the prison psychiatric consultation unit of Marseille.

Since 2017, complaints of sexual violence have increased in France. At the same time, the management of sexual offenders has been at the center of international public health policies. The prevalence of mental disorders among sexual offenders is an essential field of research. There are some published studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in sexual offenders in detention, but there are few recent published studies among French individuals who were detained. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among persons detained for sexual offenses and the level of care received according to their diagnosis. For this purpose, we carried out a retrospective observational study from January 2017 to October 2021 of all adult sexual offenders, whether accused or convicted, who were seen in the psychiatric consultation unit of Les Baumettes prison, Marseille, France. The primary outcome measure was the psychiatric diagnosis entered in the medical records. One hundred forty-two patients were included in analysis. All patients were men, and the majority (n = 97, 68.3%) of these patients presented with at least one psychiatric disorder, principally a personality disorder (31.7%). 10.6% presented with a schizophrenic disorder, 4.9% a bipolar disorder, 3.5% a depressive disorder, 5.6% pedophilic paraphilia, and 25.4% an addictive disorder. Their management and comorbid addictions were analyzed in subgroups for each psychiatric disorder. Patients appeared to receive an appropriate level of care for their diagnosed disorder. It seems important to develop structured assessment of recidivism risk for better management of sexual offenders.

A systematic scoping review of environmental health conditions in penal institutions.

Adequate environmental health conditions in penal institutions are necessary to protect and promote the health of prisoners and prison workers. We conducted a scoping systematic review to: describe the environmental health conditions in penal institutions and the associated exposures and health outcomes; identify effective approaches to prevent environmental health concerns; and identify evidence gaps on environmental health in penal institution populations. PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched. Peer-reviewed studies that reported original data and on environmental health conditions and/or exposures in penal institutions were included. Seventy-three studies met these criteria. The most common risk factor identified was contaminated food and/or beverages prepared or handled in the institution's kitchen. Overcrowding, inadequate ventilation, and a lack of, or sharing of, soap and other hygiene products increased the risk of adverse health outcomes. Common responses included isolating infectious patients, educating prisoners and prison staff on improved sanitation and hygiene practices, improving ventilation, and disinfecting contaminated surfaces and/or water sources. Inadequate environmental health conditions in penal institutions are common, and adversely impact the health of prisoners and prison staff, yet are preventable. Few studies have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries, biasing our results. The development and implementation of national guidelines for essential environmental health in prisons, monitoring of conditions, and greater accountability of facility managers are needed to secure the health, rights, and well-being of prisoners.

Implementation of a Suicide Risk Screening Instrument in a Remand Prison Service in Berlin.

In the present study, we examined the effects of implementing the suicide risk screening instrument SIRAS in a pre-trial detention facility for men in Berlin. Within a period of 3 months, all newly arriving prisoners were screened (n = 611) by social workers or prison officers. Cases of elevated suicide risk were immediately referred to a psychologist or medical staff the same day. Follow-up over a 6-month period showed that 14% of all incoming prisoners were classified as high-risk individuals. These individuals received significantly more psychological and psychiatric treatment and were significantly more likely to be accommodated in crisis intervention rooms and emergency community accommodation (shared prison cells). In addition, it was found that despite the increased amount of treatment in the high-risk group, the number of specific measures did not increase significantly compared to the pre-implementation phase (N = 1,510).

[Woman and mother in prison, a difficult reality]. / Femme et mère en prison, une réalité difficile.

Prison is a difficult and violent environment. Women prisoners are often in situations of frailty, social and emotional misery. Mothers who have a child under the age of 18 months are able to live with them in dedicated wings. However, although prison conditions have improved with time, discussion is needed around the development of alternatives to incarceration, such as electronic tagging.

Atividade física e outros aspectos relacionados à saúde de agentes penitenciários de Londrina, PR / Physical activity and other health-related factors in prison wardens of Londrina, PR

Objetivo: (1) Verificar a prevalência de cinco indicadores de saúde em agentes penitenciários do município de Londrina-PR e (2) explorar a associação entre os indicadores de saúde. Métodos: Estudo transversal realizado em outubro de 2007. Agentes penitenciários das duas unidades prisionais do município de Londrina foram amostrados. Os dados foram coletados através de entrevistas face-a-face, aplicando-se um questionário padronizado e previamente testado. Os indicadores de saúde investigados foram: consumo de bebidas alcoólicas, tabagismo, sobrepeso e obesidade, distúrbios psíquicos menores e prática regular de atividades físicas no lazer. Resultados: Setenta e cinco agentes penitenciários foram entrevistados. Consumo regular de bebidas alcoólicas (71,2%) e excesso de peso corporal (53,4%) foram os indicadores de saúde mais prevalentes. Apenas um entre três agentes penitenciários (37,3%) relatou praticar atividades físicas regulares e a presença de distúrbios psíquicos menores foi observada em 21,3% dos entrevistados. Associação significativa foi verificada entre ausência de prática regular de atividades físicas e consumo de bebidas alcoólicas (p=0,03) e presença de distúrbios psíquicos menores (p=0,02). Conclusão: Agentes penitenciários do município de Londrina apresentam alta prevalência de agravos á saúde. Os achados deste estudo podem encorajar a elaboração de políticas de promoção da saúde entre agentes penitenciários e estimular a realização de outras pesquisas no crescente âmbito do sistema prisional brasileiro.

Objectives: (1) To verify the prevalence of five health indicators in prison wardens of Londrina, PR and (2) to explore the association among these indicators. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in October of 2007. Prison wardens from the two penal institutions of Londrina city were sampled. A standardized and pre-tested questionnaire was applied to individuals through face-to-face interviews. The health indicators studied were: alcoholic beverages intake, smoking, overweight and obesity, minor psychological disorders, and regular practice of leisure-time physical activities. Results: Seventy five prison wardens were interviewed. Regular intake of alcoholic beverages (71.2%) and excessive body weight (53.4%) were the most prevalent health indicators. Only one among every three prison wardens (37.3%) reported practicing physical activity regularly and the presence of minor psychological disorders was observed in 21.3% of the interviewed. A significant association was verified between no-physical activity and alcohol intake (p=0.03) and presence of minor psychological disorders (p=0.02). Conclusion: Prison wardens of the city of Londrina present high prevalence of health-related problems. The findings from this study shall encourage the development of pro-health policies among prison wardens and to estimulate further research in the context of the increasingly Brazilian penal system.