Long periods of being locked up with little mental stimulation is bad for the mental health of prisoners. Nurse and colleagues (p 480) conducted focus groups with prisoners and prison staff in a medium security remand prison in southern England and found that long hours of social isolation contributed to feelings of anger, frustration, and anxiety. Prisoners attributed drug misuse to social isolation. Prison staff said that fewer staff, more prisoners, high staff sickness rates, and prison staff management styles increased their stress levels. The authors state that health professionals, primary care trusts, policy makers, and prison management need to address prison environmental factors and the mental health of prison staff to have an impact on the mental health of prisoners.
Figure 1.
