Prisoner’s insomnia prevalence, insomnia associated factors and interventions with sleep as an outcome: a review and narrative analysis

Abstract

Purpose

Insomnia is highly prevalent in prisoners. The purpose of this paper is a review of research evidence on interventions with sleep as an outcome (2000 to 2020) and rates of insomnia prevalence and associated factors in prisons (2015 to 2020).

Design/methodology/approach

An internet-based search used Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), Embase, Web of Science and Scopus. Seven interventions and eight sleep prevalence or sleep-associated factor papers were identified.

Findings

Intervention research was very limited and the quality of the research design was generally poor. Interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), yoga and mindfulness can be beneficial in a prison setting. This review identified a high prevalence of insomnia in prisons across the world, which was supported by recent evidence. Factors associated with insomnia include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorder and pain.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need for appropriately powered randomised control trials of CBT-I in prisons and a need to use objective measures of sleep quality.

Originality/value

Due to a lack of an up-to-date review, this paper fulfils the need for a review of the evidence on interventions in prison settings with sleep as an outcome, rates of insomnia prevalence and associated factors in prisons.

Citation

Griffiths, C. and Hina, F. (2022), "Prisoner’s insomnia prevalence, insomnia associated factors and interventions with sleep as an outcome: a review and narrative analysis", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 27-42. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-01-2021-0014