Incarcerated people in prisons: A public health priority in resource-poor settings

Abstract

Brazil has the third largest prison population on the planet. In this situational framework, Brazil's state prisons experience brutal riots. Here we show that, the risks of prison violence are exacerbated by a lack of opportunities for inmates once they've entered the penal system. Prisoners in Brazil do not have adequate access to healthcare services and neither is properly reached by the healthcare system. Overcrowding makes it hard for prison authorities to keep rival factions separate. The identification of the presence of mental problems when the individuals are admitted to prisons is a necessary task that may guide the adoption of measures to reduce suffering beyond the penalty of deprivation of freedom. The burden of psychiatric disorders in the prisoner's population is not known. The prevalence of major psychiatric disorders is high. Regardless of whether mental disorders are the cause or consequence of prison, it is elucidated that the stressing factors inherent to the inmate condition do not contribute to the prevention of mental disorders.

Keywords

• Prisoner's population
• Violence
• Healthcare
• Mental disorders
• Penalty of deprivation of freedom