Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a medico-judicial framework for rehabilitation of forensic psychiatric patients in Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded theory of the Charmaz (2006, 2014) persuasion was used. An exploratory qualitative design was utilised. The theoretical framework that was used as a point of departure was Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptual canon. Participants were purposefully and theoretically sampled. These included the judiciary, patients, patients’ family, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, experts in forensic psychiatric practice. They were 32 in total. Findings – The findings reflected a need to realign the dislocation and dissonance between and within the fields of the prison system, medical system, and the judiciary. The realignment was done by co-constructing a therapeutic jurisprudent medico-judicial framework for rehabilitation of forensic psychiatric patients in Zimbabwe with participants who were stakeholders in forensic psychiatric rehabilitation. Research limitations/implications – The study was focused on male forensic psychiatric patients rehabilitation and not on female forensic psychiatric patients because there were important variables in the two groups that were not homogenous. However, it is possible that including females in the study could have added perspective to the study. This also limits the generalisation of findings beyond the male forensic psychiatric participants. Services beyond the experience of participants translate to the notion that findings cannot be generalised beyond the parameters of the study. Future research and service evaluation and audit need to be considered. The study findings focused on the “psychiatric” aspect and did not emphasise the “forensic” aspect of the service delivery service. Future research may need to feature physical provisions and progression pathways with reference to “forensic” risk reduction as a parallel goal. Practical implications – The study calls for the following: Transformation of the medico-judicial system, adjusting legislation and restructuring of the public service; changing of public attitudes to enable implementation of the medico-judicial framework; there is need for a step by step process in the implementation of the framework in which training needs of service staff, social workers, community leaders and key stakeholders will need to be addressed; the proposed changes presented by the model will require cultural, financial and infrastructural shifts. Social implications – There is need for policy makers to re-enfranchise or rebrand forensic psychiatric rehabilitation services in Zimbabwe. This could positively involve the marketing of forensic psychiatric rehabilitation to the stakeholders and to the public. This is projected to counter the stigma, disinterest and disillusionment that run through both professionals and public alike. This will foster a therapeutic jurisprudence that upholds the dignity and rights of forensic psychiatric patients. Originality/value – This work is an original contribution to forensic psychiatry in Zimbabwe. Research in that area is prohibitive because of the complexity of processes that are followed. This research is therefore ground breaking.

Policies on the elderly in Zimbabwe are based on social networks and social capital in which the care of the elderly rests with the adult children and other relatives including the community. It is argued that social networks and social capital are informal and the weakness in these informal types of social support is that they are difficult to maintain in cases of urbanization, migration and socio-economic hardships. The study sought to examine the relationship between social support and the perception of being institutionalized among the elderly aged 65 years and above who were in institutions in Bulawayo urban. A descriptive quantitative cross-sectional correlational survey method was used. A simple random sampling method was used to recruit respondents. The sample size in this study was 81 respondents. Data was collected using the interview schedule. Analysis was done using the Statistical Package Social for Sciences (SPSS) package, descriptive and inferential statistics. The Pearson's correlation coefficient showed the relationship between social support and perception of being institutionalized as follows; r = 0.181, p = 0.107. This shows that there is no relationship between social support and perception of being institutionalized among the elderly aged 65 years and above who are in institutions in Bulawayo urban, Zimbabwe. KeywordsElderly, Social Support, Perception, Institutionalized BackgroundAging is inevitable. The elderly's ability to carry out activities of daily living becomes difficult and deteriorates forcing them to be cared for in an institution.With the epidemiological transition, the rate of institutionalization of older adults has increased in various countries, and this process is occurring in Zimbabwe as well [1]. It is projected that with longevity more elderly people will be institutionalized.Perception of being institutionalized is a socially constructed way of thinking about institutionalization. Positive perception of being institutionalized is when the elderly accept that ageing has physiological, psychological and social determinants such that institutionalization is necessary at some point in time [2].Negative perception of being institutionalized is often based on negative attitudes and stereotypes that ageing is negative and being in an institution is worse.Institutionalization during old age therefore requires tremendous adaptabilityIn a study conducted in India, 50% of the respondents felt neglected by family, 32% had no contact with the outside world, and 68% felt that the attitude of people towards the elderly was that of neglect [4]. A related study further found that 48% of the institutionalised elderly felt sad because of poverty, this observation being made in Zimbabwe [5]. In Zimbabwe, the general perception is that the elderly in institutions are foreigners who are usually destitute with no one to care for them [6]. However, due to socio-economic and demographic changes more and more elderly people now accept that they can no longer depend on the adult childre...

Background: Aggressive tendencies from psychiatric inpatients are increasingly becoming problematic at a national referral psychiatric hospital in Zimbabwe. No research has been done in this context to determine the dynamics around this disturbing phenomenon. Objectives: To determine the level of knowledge on anger control, to determine the occurrence of real assaultive behaviour and to examine the relationship between level of knowledge on anger control and occurrence of real assaultive behaviour in patients aged 20 -45 years admitted at a national referral psychiatric hospital in Zimbabwe. Method: A descriptive correlational design was used. Seventy-six respondents aged between 20 and 45 years were selected using simple random sampling. A structured interview was used to collect data. The occurrence of real assaultive behaviour was adapted from the Staff Observation and Aggression Scale completed by observing patients during the assaultive behaviour occurrence. Patient observation was done by the psychiatric trained nurses who were specifically trained for this study to fill the part of the data collection instrument that needed observation. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient test and simple regression analysis.Results: Results showed a Pearson coefficient test of (r = −3.47, p < 0.01).R-Squared indicated that levels of knowledge on anger control accounts for 12% variance in the occurrence of real assaultive behaviour. Conclusions: Results call for collaboration of mental health practitioners to empower patients with anger control skills.

The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with recidivism at a Central Prison in Zimbabwe. A descriptive quantitative cross sectional survey was done. Purposive sampling was used to draw respondents for the study. Data were collected from 30 inmates who had been re-imprisoned. A structured interview was used to collect data. The results revealed that a confluence of complex demographic, biological, economic, social and psychological factors was responsible for occurrence of recidivating or habitual relapse into crime. A recommendation calling for the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services to introspect, redefine its operations and refocus its mandate while collaborating with other organizations to intensify rehabilitation and re-integration programmes in prisons was projected.