1 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
2 Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Qual Health Res. 2018 May;28(6):963-976. doi: 10.1177/1049732318762370. Epub 2018 Mar 21.
Approximately 20% of the roughly 2.5 million individuals incarcerated in the United States have a serious mental illness (SMI). As a result of their illnesses, these individuals are often more likely to commit a crime, end up incarcerated, and languish in correctional settings without appropriate treatment. The objective of the present study was to investigate how correctional facility personnel reconcile the ethical challenges that arise when housing and treating individuals with SMI. Four focus groups and one group interview were conducted with employees ( n = 24) including nurses, clinicians, correctional officers, administrators, and sergeants at a county jail in Pennsylvania. Results show that jail employees felt there are too many inmates with SMI in jail who would benefit from more comprehensive treatment elsewhere; however, given limited resources, employees felt they were doing the best they can. These findings can inform mental health management and policy in a correctional setting.
大约 250 万被监禁的美国公民中，约有 20%患有严重精神疾病 (SMI)。由于他们的疾病，这些人更容易犯罪，最终入狱，并在没有适当治疗的情况下在惩教机构中受苦。本研究的目的是调查惩教设施人员如何应对在安置和治疗患有 SMI 的个人时出现的道德挑战。在宾夕法尼亚州的一个县监狱，对包括护士、临床医生、狱警、管理人员和中士在内的员工（n=24）进行了四次焦点小组讨论和一次小组访谈。结果表明，监狱工作人员认为监狱中有太多患有 SMI 的囚犯，他们在其他地方接受更全面的治疗将受益，但鉴于资源有限，工作人员认为他们已经尽力了。这些发现可以为惩教环境中的心理健康管理和政策提供信息。
