Links Between Depressive Symptoms & Unmet Health & Social Care Needs among Older Prisoners
BACKGROUND:
Absolute
numbers of older prisoners and their proportion of the total prison population
are increasing. They have multiple health and social care needs that are
prominent on entry into prison. No previous studies have identified older
prisoners' health and social care needs at this crucial point.
OBJECTIVE:
To
examine unmet health and social care needs among older men entering prison and
their links with depressive symptoms.
METHODS:
A
cross-sectional survey across
nine prisons in the North of England was completed. One hundred male prisoners
aged between 60 and 81 were interviewed, using the Camberwell Assessment of
Need-Forensic short version (CANFOR-S) and Geriatric Depression Scale-Short
Form (GDS-15). Descriptive statistics were generated and χ(2) tests performed.
RESULTS:
Participants
reported high levels of unmet needs as measured with the CANFOR-S, notably in
the domains of knowledge about their condition and treatment (38%);
psychological distress (34%); daytime activities (29%); benefits (28%); food
(22%) and physical health (21%). The mean total number of unmet needs was 2.74,
with a median of 2.0. More than half the sample (56%, 95% CI 45-66%) exhibited
clinical signs of depression. A significant association between depressive
symptomology and an unmet physical health need, as measured by the CANFOR-S,
was detected (χ(2) = 6.76, df = 1, P < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS:
High
levels of depressive symptoms were experienced by older prisoners on entry into
prison. Personalised health and social care needs assessment and discrete
depression screening are required on prison entry to facilitate effective
management of unmet needs.
Below: Distribution of GDS-15 scores (n = 86).
- 1School of Languages, Law and Social Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology (http://www.dit.ie/llss/), Dublin, Ireland.
- 2Offender Health Research Network, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- 3Institute of Brain Behaviour and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- 4University of Warwick-Medicine, Medical Teaching Centre, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
- 5School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- 6Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.
- Age Ageing. 2016 Jan;45(1):158-63. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afv171.
No comments:
Post a Comment