Mohamed Sara
Department of Applied Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2025 Apr;69(5):630-654. doi: 10.1177/0306624X241228218. Epub 2024 Feb 5.
Individuals with mental illness are significantly overrepresented in the Canadian justice system. Given the high rate of mental illness among individuals who are incarcerated, correctional facilities must implement accessible and effective mental health resources. This not only improves their health and well-being but also contributes to their rehabilitation efforts. However, evidence suggests that the care provided in prisons is inadequate. This scoping review asks, "What is known about the access and quality of mental health care services for adults who are incarcerated in Ontario?" Mental health care services included non-acute interventions and care that is provided in the institution. This scoping review followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews methodology. Databases searched include MedLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and the grey literature. The search yielded 354 titles and abstracts of which 16 met the inclusion criteria. Conducted from 2010-2022, the 16 studies included qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Common themes that were identified related to segregation, mental health assessments, medication prescribing and access, opioid agonist therapy, psychiatric service access, systemic and institutional barriers, mental health perception, and the need for collaboration. Despite the significant demand for mental health care in Ontario correctional facilities, limitations to quality care are evident. Such limitations intersect and are then exacerbated, resulting in poor mental health care provision among the incarcerated population. More research is warranted regarding the access, quality, and efficiency of mental health care in Ontario prisons, and how factors including ethnicity, gender, and prison classification (provincial vs. federal) may influence mental health care and its outcomes.
患有精神疾病的人在加拿大司法系统中的占比显著过高。鉴于被监禁者中精神疾病的高发率，惩教机构必须提供可及且有效的心理健康资源。这不仅能改善他们的健康和福祉，还有助于他们的康复努力。然而，有证据表明监狱提供的护理不足。这项范围综述提出的问题是：“对于安大略省被监禁的成年人，关于心理健康护理服务的可及性和质量我们了解多少？”心理健康护理服务包括非急性干预措施以及在机构内提供的护理。这项范围综述遵循了《系统评价与荟萃分析扩展版范围综述方法》。所检索的数据库包括医学在线数据库（MedLINE）、荷兰医学文摘数据库（EMBASE）、护理学与健康领域数据库（CINAHL）、心理学文摘数据库（PsycINFO）、刑事司法摘要数据库、JSTOR、谷歌学术以及灰色文献。检索共得到354个标题和摘要，其中16篇符合纳入标准。这16项研究在2010年至2022年期间开展，包括定性研究、定量研究和混合方法研究。确定的共同主题涉及隔离、心理健康评估、药物处方与获取、阿片类激动剂疗法、精神科服务获取、系统和机构障碍、心理健康认知以及合作需求。尽管安大略省惩教机构对心理健康护理有巨大需求，但优质护理的局限性显而易见。这些局限性相互交织并加剧，导致被监禁人群的心理健康护理服务质量不佳。关于安大略省监狱心理健康护理的可及性、质量和效率，以及种族、性别和监狱分类（省级与联邦级）等因素如何影响心理健康护理及其结果，仍需要更多研究。
