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This paper aims to explore smokefree prison policy, from the perspective of people in custody in Scotland.

In total, 77 people in custody in Scotland were interviewed in the period leading up to implementation of a nationwide prison smokefree policy. Data were thematically analysed to identify the diversity of views and experiences.

Participants described a widespread awareness in prisons of plans to implement a smokefree policy from 30 November 2018. Opinions about smokefree prisons varied among participants based on perceptions of the fairness, and anticipated positive and negative consequences of removing tobacco from prisons. At the time of the interviews, people in custody were responding to the impending smokefree policy, either by proactively preparing for the smokefree rule change or by deploying avoidance strategies. Participants described opportunities and challenges for implementing smokefree policy in prisons across three main themes: the role of smoking in prison, prison smoking cessation services and motivations for quitting smoking among people in custody.

This study exploring smokefree prisons from the perspectives of people in custody has several novel features which extend the evidence base. The findings highlight measures for jurisdictions to consider when planning to prohibit smoking in their prisons in the future. These include the need for evidence-based smoking cessation support in advance of smokefree policy, effective communication campaigns, consideration of broader structural determinants of health in prison and ongoing measures to reduce rates of return to smoking post release.

Globally, health problems are very common among prisoners. A mental state examination aims to help in recognising psychiatric problems among offenders and the possible association of these psychiatric issues with their committed crime. The legal-medical term “reduced criminal responsibility” refers to a weakened sense of reality and the ability to control one’s behaviour because of compromised mental health and without an evaluated need for forensic psychiatric hospitalisation. However, little is known about the actual need for the health care of prisoners with reduced criminal responsibility (PRCR). The purpose of this study was to explore treatment-related visits to prison by PRCR in Finland.

The research data comprise information on PRCR’s treatment-related visits and that of a matched control group (n = 222). Descriptive cross-tabulation with X²- and nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-tests and Cox regression analyses are applied.

The results show that almost every PRCR had at least one treatment-related visit during their sentences. Visits to a psychiatric hospital for prisoners, to the prison hospital and especially to a civil hospital are more common among PRCR. The need for treatment appears significantly earlier in their sentences.

These findings demonstrate the PRCR’s greater need for access to health services and the need for further development between the Health Care Services for Prisoners, Prison and Probation Service of Finland and public health and social services in Finland. More exploration of the medical reasons and locational distribution of the vast amount of civil hospitalisation is needed.

This paper seeks to understand relationships between prison healthcare and integrated care systems (ICS), including how these affect the delivery of new healthcare interventions. It also aims to understand how closer integration between prison and ICS could improve cross system working between community and prison healthcare teams, and highlights challenges that exist to integration between prison healthcare and ICS.

The study uses evidence from research on the implementation of a pilot study to establish telemedicine secondary care appointments between prisons and an acute trust in one English region (a cross-system intervention). Qualitative interview data were collected from prison (n = 12) and community (n = 8) healthcare staff related to the experience of implementing a cross-system telemedicine initiative. Thematic analysis was undertaken on interview data, guided by an implementation theory and framework.

The research found four main themes related to the closer integration between prison healthcare and ICS: (1) Recognition of prison health as a priority; (2) Finding a way to reconcile networks and finances between community and prison commissioning; (3) Awareness of prison service influence on NHS healthcare planning and delivery; and (4) Shared investment in prison health can lead to benefits.

This is the first article to provide research evidence to support or challenge the integration of specialist health and justice (H&J) commissioning into local population health.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current provision of opioid substitution therapy (OST) during and immediately following release from detention in prisons in England and Wales.

A group of experts was convened to comment on current practices and to make recommendations for improving OST management in prison. Current practices were previously assessed using an online survey and a focus group with experience of OST in prison (Webster, 2017).

Disruption to the management of addiction and reduced treatment choice for OST adversely influences adequate provision of OST in prison. A key concern was the routine diversion of opiate substitutes to other prisoners. The new controlled drug formulations were considered a positive development to ensure streamlined and efficient OST administration. The following patient populations were identified as having concerns beyond their opioid use, and therefore require additional considerations in prison: older people with comorbidities and complex treatment needs; women who have experienced trauma and have childcare issues; and those with existing mental health needs requiring effective understanding and treatment in prison.

Integration of clinical and psychosocial services would enable a joint care plan to be tailored for each individual with opioid dependence and include options for detoxification or maintenance treatment. This would better enable those struggling with opioid use to make informed choices concerning their care during incarceration and for the period immediately following their release. Improvements in coordination of OST would facilitate inclusion of strategies to further streamline this process for the benefit of prisoners and prison staff.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) goal to end the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 emphasises the importance of leaving no one behind. To determine progress towards the elimination goal in Ghana, an in-depth understanding of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care from the perspective of vulnerable populations such as persons living with HIV in incarceration is necessary. This study aims to explore the experiences of incarcerated individuals living with HIV (ILHIV) and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in selected Ghanaian prisons to help inform policy.

The study adopted a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews with 16 purposively selected ILHIV on ART from purposively selected prisons. Interviews were conducted between October and December 2022. Thematic analysis was performed using the ATLAS.Ti software.

Three themes were generated from the analysis: waking up to a positive HIV status; living with HIV a day at a time; and being my brother’s keeper: preventing HIV transmission. All participants underwent HIV screening at the various prisons. ILHIV also had access to ART although those on remand had challenges with refills. Stigma perpetuated by incarcerated individuals against those with HIV existed, and experiences of inadequate nutrition among incarcerated individuals on ART were reported. Opportunities to improve the experiences of the ILHIV are required to improve care and reduce morbidity and mortality.

Through first-hand experiences from ILHIV in prisons, this study provides the perception of incarcerated individuals on HIV care in prisons. The insights gained from this study can contribute to the development of targeted interventions and strategies to improve HIV care and support for incarcerated individuals.

The rate of female committals to prison has grown rapidly in recent years. Women in prison are likely to have trauma histories and difficulties with their mental health. This paper aims to synthesise the findings of qualitative literature to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of women in the context of prison-based mental health care.

A systematic search of five academic databases, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Psychological Information Database (PsycINFO), Excerpta Medica DataBASE (EMBASE) and Medline, was completed in December 2020. This study’s search strategy identified 4,615 citations, and seven studies were included for review. Thomas and Harden’s (2008) framework for thematic synthesis was used to analyse data. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Qualitative Research (Lockwood et al., 2015).

Four analytic themes were identified that detail women’s experiences of prison-based mental health care: the type of services accessed and challenges encountered; a reduction in capacity to self-manage mental well-being; the erosion of privacy and dignity; and strained relationships with prison staff. There is a paucity of research conducted with women in the context of prison-based mental health care. The findings suggest there is a need for greater mental health support, including the need to enhance relationships between women and prison staff to promote positive mental health.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review conducted on the experiences of women in the context of prison-based mental health care.

The aim of present study was to integrate vital noncommunicable diseases (coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and mental health disorders) into Prison-Based Active Health Services Provision (PAHSP).

On Jan 1, 2018, there were 230,000 prisoners in Iran. Timely and systematic detection and diagnosis of chronic health conditions among this population are imperative. The collaboration between healthcare providers in prison and members of the multidisciplinary team of the healthcare community outside prison initiated an active health service provision approach for HIV and tuberculosis (TB). Guidelines for the control of HIV and TB in prison were piloted, and the finalized version was named “Prison-based Active Health Services Provision” (PAHSP), which has been scaled up in 16 of 260 Iranian prisons.

The PAHSP approach emphasizes the importance of early identification of key symptoms and risk factors. This approach provides an opportunity for improved prevention and treatment, enabling prisoners identified at risk or those who have been diagnosed with a target disease to be followed up and receive the appropriate health care.

Initiatives such as screening for chronic health conditions coupled with treatment will reduce the burden of chronic illness among prisoners and the broader community, thereby saving on healthcare costs and lives.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a “holistic approach” is enacted in two interventions accommodating the same target group, young adults with offending behaviour and drug use experiences, but offered in very different contexts, the Prison Service and the community. The aim is to show how enactments of a “holistic approach”, although similar on paper, differ in welfare institutional practices due especially to organisational and structural conditions.

The paper is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews and written material from and about the two interventions.

Different enactments of a “holistic approach”, due to organisational and structural conditions of the interventions, construct different possibilities for institutional identities. These insights could be useful to take into consideration when discussing prevention initiatives (in a broad sense) for young people with complex problems, including co-occurring offending behaviour and drug use experience.

Research with a focus on citizens with complex problems who do not comply with OR conform to standard welfare institutions are limited. The authors contribute to this literature by focussing on young adults with offending behaviour and drug experiences.

Building on the literature of hybrids in the context of public organizations, this paper aims to discuss under which conditions hybrids can adequately provide “critical services”, a subset of public services characterized by their simultaneous exposure to externalities, socio-economic cohesion and legitimacy concerns.

The authors collect indications from two stylized examples, prisons and defense, to develop propositions as a step toward assessing the potential role of hybrids as alternatives to direct public provision or full privatization in the delivery of critical services.

This paper examines the conditions under which hybrid arrangements outperform the polar cases of public bureaus and full privatization in the delivery of a specific subset of public goods that the authors identify as “critical services”.

The authors suggest that there might be comparative advantages in relying on hybrid arrangements rather than the usual solutions of fully private or fully governmental provision. However, they also submit that these advantages are conditional to the capacity of hybrids to reconcile competing interests to achieve socio-economic cohesion, to combine capabilities dispersed among partners to benefit from positive externalities and to satisfy legitimacy concerns with respect to the role of government.

There has been a move towards the implementation of digital/e-health interventions for some time. Digital/e-health interventions have demonstrable efficacy in increasing individual empowerment, providing timely access to psychological interventions for those experiencing mental ill-health and improving outcomes for those using them. This study aims to determine the efficacy of digital/e-health interventions for individuals detained in prison who experience mental ill-health.

A systematic search of five academic databases – CINAHL, ASSIA, PsycINFO, Embase and Medline – was completed in December 2020 and updated in February 2022. The review was guided by the Whittemore and Knafl (2005) framework for integrative reviews. A total of 6,255 studies were returned and screened by title and abstract. A full-text screening of nine (n = 9) studies was conducted.

No study met the inclusion criteria for the clinical efficacy of digital/e-health interventions in a prison setting. Subsequently, a review of the literature that made it to the full-text review stage was conducted, and gaps in the literature were identified to inform policy, practice and future research.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first integrative review conducted on the efficacy of digital/e-health interventions for mental ill-health in prison settings.