Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among inmates in Jos maximum security prison

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of psychiatric illness in correctional settings is significantly elevated, with higher than community rates reported in most mental disorders. The prison is a correctional institution in which inmates have limited liberty, autonomy, and communication with family and friends. This can be devastating to some inmates thereby leading to deterioration in their physical, psychological and social wellbeing. The study was aimed to determine the prevalence of axis 1 psychiatric disorders and associated factors among prison inmates in Jos, Nigeria. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in Jos maximum security prison among 608 inmates. Two sets of data collection instruments were used namely (General Health Questionnaire) GHQ-28 and (Composite International Diagnostic Interview) CIDI. SPSS statistical software package for windows version 15.0 was used for data analysis and test of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 347 (57%), substance use disorder was the commonest disorder found in 169 (48.7%). Psychiatric morbidity was significantly associated with age (P = 0.034) and prison status (P = 0.01). Conclusion: This study showed that there was a high rate of psychiatric disorders among prison inmates in Nigeria, which should be a concern to health care policy makers in the country. Recommendation: The establishment of functional psychiatric services with adequate manpower in prison will assist in the detection, treatment and correction of inmates.

More than eight in every nineteen inmates were living with depression at prisons of Northwest Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, a cross sectional study design

“…This finding was strengthened by the result from Jos maximum Security Prison, Plateau State which indicated a strong association between depression and status of prison [27]. The possible explanation for this could be age distributions of the prisoners as the distribution of old ages were higher in the Gondar and Dabre Tabor prisons.…”

Substance Use Disorder and Reoffending Among Inmates Awaiting Trial in a Maximum Security Prison in Nigeria

“…[16] and Armiya'u et.al. [17] who reported a SUD prevalence of 26.1%, 20.1% and 48.7% in their respective samples [15][16][17]. A more recent study conducted at a maximum security prison in Nigeria among awaiting trial and convicted inmates showed that 60% of the inmates had used alcohol and illegal drugs before their current offense [14].…”

“…Other previous studies of psychiatric comorbidity in Nigeria have documented a relatively low prevalence of SUD in prison populations [15][16][17].…”

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“…Findings indicate limitations in provision of psychosocial health services for displaced people, including management of severe mental disorders and lack of referral mechanisms to specialized mental health services [1]. Psychiatric morbidity is generally defined as a psychological or mental condition which leads to both psychological and physical deterioration [2]. The term usually applies to people who are very aware of their condition, despite the psychological and physical deterioration [2].…”

“…Psychiatric morbidity is generally defined as a psychological or mental condition which leads to both psychological and physical deterioration [2]. The term usually applies to people who are very aware of their condition, despite the psychological and physical deterioration [2]. Psychological distress, posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive episode have been recognized as the most common mental health issues amongst the uprooted populations [3,4].…”