Mental health care in European penitentiaries

摘要

Objective and methods: We analysed administrative national data regarding mental health care and psychiatric prevalence in the penitentiary systems of 24 European countries. Data was provided by national experts via questionnaire. Results: There is a mixed approach for prison mental health care in European countries that either rely on separated psychiatric prison services or collaborate with specialized forensic or general mental health care services. Care provision in general is assessed as deficient. At all decisive points of detention, adequate screening or diagnostic routines are lacking. As a consequence, nothing is known about the prevalence of mental disorders in European prisons. At the moment, only a very limited number of secondary indicators are available for describing the problem. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for improving the reporting routines on mental disorders in prison inmates as a first step for improving substantially the mental health care provision for prisoners in European countries.