Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-5lx2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-27T22:34:39.930Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A novel prison mental health in-reach service in Somaliland: a model for low-income countries?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Jibril I. M. Handuleh  and
Ronan J. Mclvor
Jibril I. M. Handuleh
Affiliation:
Amoud University School of Medicine, Somaliland
Ronan J. Mclvor
Affiliation:
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London School of Medicine, UK, email Ronan.McIvor@slam.nhs.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Prison in-reach mental health services are reasonably well developed in advanced economies, but virtually nonexistent in low-and middle-income countries. We describe the development of a small prison in-reach project in Somaliland, a self-declared independent state which has experienced conflict and poverty in equal measure. After careful planning and cooperation with local agencies, the service provides sessional input to a regional prison, including assessment and treatment of a wide range of psychiatric conditions. The project has had some unexpected benefits, which are described. The success of the project reflects the effectiveness of collaboration between local stakeholders and international agencies, and could be used as a model for the development of in-reach services in other low-income countries.

Type
Thematic papers
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , August 2014 , pp. 61 - 64
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2014

References

Audi, M. D., Tesfaye, M., Gurmu, S., et al (2008) Lifetime prevalence of substance abuse and mental distress among homicide offenders in Jimma prison, Ethiopia. African Journal of Applied Psychology, 2, 15–26.Google Scholar
Birmingham, L. (1999) Prison officers can recognise hidden psychiatric morbidity in prisoners. BMJ, 319, 853.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Exworthy, T., Samele, C., Urquia, N., et al (2012) Asserting prisoners' rights to health: progressing beyond equivalence. Psychiatric Services, 63, 270–275.Google Scholar
Fazel, S. & Baillargeon, J. (2011) The health of prisoners. Lancet, 377, 956–965.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gavaghan, L. & Hughes, P. (2013) The mental health component of undergraduate medical training in Somaliland. International Psychiatry, 10, 74–75.Google Scholar
Ginn, S. (2012) Dealing with mental disorder in prisoners. BMJ, 345, 26–27.Google Scholar
Handuleh, J. (2012) Experiences of a junior doctor establishing mental health services in Somaliland. Intervention, 10, 274–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leather, A., Ismail, E. A., Ali, R., et al (2006) Working together to rebuild health care in post-conflict Somaliland. Lancet, 368, 1119–1125.Google Scholar
Naidoo, S. & Mkize, D. L. (2012) Prevalence of mental disorders in a prison population in Durban, South Africa. African Journal of Psychiatry, 15, 30–35.Google Scholar
Odenwald, M., Warfa, N., Bhui, K., et al (2009) The stimulant khat – another door in the wall? A call for overcoming the barriers. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 132, 615–619.Google Scholar
Sarkar, J. & Dutt, A. B. (2006) Forensic psychiatry in India: time to wake up. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 17, 121–130.Google Scholar
Sheriff, R. & Whitwell, S. (2012) An innovative approach to integrating mental health into health systems: strengthening activities in Somaliland. Intervention, 10, 59–65.Google Scholar
Singleton, N., Meltzer, H. & Gatward, R. (1998) Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners: Summary Report. Office for National Statistics.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2007) Preventing Suicide in Jails and Prisons. WHO (available online).Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.