Unit 4 Lit Review Eng

Research Proposal

Name

Institution

Mental Health Patients in Prison

Introduction

The majority of the prison and jail population in the United States comprises of the mentally ill person. According to various surveys conducted in the past, these numbers tend to eclipse that of the people with a mental health condition in homes and hospitals. Severe cases of mental illness may include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. Other prevalent conditions include antisocial personality disorder. There are also variations depending on the situation of the jail or prison, whether in the rural or urban setting. Cases of mental illness also vary along gender lines where the female inmates are more prone to psychological distress.

Causes of Mental Health Illnesses in Prisons

One of the commonly cited reasons for this increase in the number of people with a mental health condition in prisons is the deinstitutionalization of many psychiatric hospitals by the state in the mid-twentieth century. Even though this was all carried out in good faith, the state failed to set up alternative facilities where mental illnesses could be treated. Community health centers directed their resources in handling mental health cases, some of which were not very serious (Metzner & Fellner, 2013). Low-income areas became richer in these cases of mental illnesses. Patients discharged from state psychiatric hospitals were sometimes not fully recovered, and there was no follow up. Many low income-generating areas have many cases of mental health patients in prisons. Due to a lack of affordable housing, many people end up in the streets where they engage in drug usage and trafficking, which land them to prison.

Another factor is the high rate of arrest among the people exhibiting signs of mental illness. Some of the charges leveled against them are just mercy bookings to get these homeless people from the streets (Fazel et al. 2016). However, some mental health patients are held on serious counts like murder. This situation could have been prevented by according these patients' proper mental health care. Another reason for the high number of mental health cases is as a result of pretense by some of them so that they could receive special treatment within the prison.

The number of mental hospitals operating in various states continues to decrease, which leaves many mental health patients unattended. With this decline, the number of inmates in the hospitals doubled with the same period as we approached the millennium. Other young people brought up under poor conditions may opt to go to jail where they can get meals per day and a roof over their heads. Persons convicted over drug usage or have experience in related cases are likely to have mental disorders in the prison environment. Besides, some jails offer the inmates some substance abuse programs which contributes to more cases of mental illness (Metzner & Fellner, 2013). Some prisoners also go into depression in prisons, which culminate in severe mental illnesses.

Thesis: Some of the mental problems develop before the person is jailed but other result from the conditions in the prison. Although inmates may report instances of mental illnesses, there are limited facilities to handle all of them.

Conclusion

The inmates in prison are likely to undergo some mental challenges due to the environment in which they exist. Jails also lack adequate facilities to address these issues of mental health, leaving many patients unattended. Besides, psychiatric hospitals are limited, which makes it difficult for the public to access these services. Mentally ill patients are likely to engage in crimes, which in turn may lead them to jail. Besides, the prison environment does not offer a favorable condition for patients to recover from mental illnesses. Some of the mentally ill offenders are confined in solitary confinements, which aggravate the issues even further.

References

Fazel, S., Hayes, A. J., Bartellas, K., Clerici, M., & Trestman, R. (2016). Mental health of prisoners: prevalence, adverse outcomes, and interventions. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(9), 871-881.

Metzner, J. L., & Fellner, J. (2013). Solitary confinement and mental illness in US prisons: A challenge for medical ethics. Health and Human Rights in a Changing World, 316.