Understanding Inmate with Mental Health
Introduction
The number of inmates with mental health problems has been on the rise over the decades. The rise in the number of inmates affected by mental health issues is to the failure of the state and federal officers to take adequate measures. Statistics indicate that 64 percent of the incarcerated individuals report mental health concerns. The data will be collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires will be designed using the 5-point Likert scale. An assessment of the mental health program is vital in understanding the risks and challenges that the inmates face.
Goal Statement
The goal of the mental health program is to provide a platform to assess the mental health programs available for the audience and their effectiveness. The program seeks to analyze the available opportunities and the literature on mental health among inmates. The goal of the program is to help the inmates with mental issues to overcome their problems. A critical assessment of the problem will generate quality outcomes to enhance the response to the problem. Continue assessment of the state of the mental health among the inmates is vital to enhance the welfare of the inmates.
Project Objectives
The goal of the program is to help the inmates with mental issues to overcome their problems. One of the recommendations is to educate the inmates about the stigma related to mental disorders. Inmates have a risk of experiencing adverse mental health issues if they do not receive a timely response. The response should involve support from other inmates and the prison staff. The focus is to ensure they receive treatment and support during recovery. The second objective is to provide proactive measures to eliminate the risk of late diagnosis. Inmates have a risk of mental health due to isolation, separation from society, and late diagnosis. Prisoners may delay getting testing due to the stigma associated with mental health issues. The third goal of the program is to educate the inmates to ensure they receive support and treatment during and after their imprisonment. Inmates who do not receive support after imprisonment is at risk of relapse. The relapse can affect an individual and affect their integration into society. The relapse can affect the mental health and ability to remodel their behavior (Stringer, 2019). A comprehensive assessment of the problem of mental health disorders among inmates is vital to develop lasting solutions to the crisis.
Evidence-based review of the Literature for Project Justification
A public health intervention is vital to provide solutions to the inmates suffering from mental illness. Studies show that inmates continue to suffer from mental illness due to their exposure to traumatic experiences (Farrell, 2019). The inmates can still experience worse outcomes due to exposure to drug abuse. For instance, drug abuse according to scholars can generate negative outcomes such as depression and hallucination. The negative outcomes demonstrate the need to develop a health program. The health program should be custom-made for the inmates to address their unique needs (Galanek, 2015). For instance, the program should address the mental health disorders occurring among male and female inmates across different age brackets. Health programs for the inmates can provide better opportunities for recovery. It can help the inmates to experience better integration into society (Holt et al., 2005). The integration in society will help the communities to experience less crime and violence in the future.
Statistics indicate that 64 percent of the incarcerated individuals report mental health concerns. The statistics demonstrate the rising crisis among the inmates. A 2009 study showed that only 24 percent of the inmates had reported mental health concerns (Horn et al., 2014). A 2019 study that shows that 64 percent of the inmates had mental problems is alarming (Drakeford, 2019). The problem could be due to the rising number of inmates and the deteriorating condition. Another factor could be the rising penetration of drug abuse in society. Drug abuse is a major factor that leads to negative outcomes such as hallucinations and depression. Drug abuse can complicate recovery from drug abuse (Drakeford, 2019). For instance, inmates are exposed to drug abuse and other criminal activities in the correction facilities. Involvement in illegal activities can worsen the use of drugs and reluctance to report cases of mental disorders.
Mental health stigma is a major factor affecting the inmates. For instance, it affects the readiness to volunteer information about mental health. Statistics indicate that male inmates are highly affected by mental illnesses when they fail to report incidences of depression or hallucination (Drakeford, 2019). Harassment among other male inmates can increase the risk of mental problems. Immediate response is needed to prevent negative outcomes. For instance, cases of suicide or violence among male inmates have been related to poor mental conditions. The violence undermines the rehabilitation centers among the inmates (Karim et al., 2019). Immediate and strategic action is necessary to rescue a condition that is worsening the condition in the criminal justice system.
Methodology
The methodology will involve collecting data from a set of 100 inmates across five different state and country rehabilitation centers. The rehabilitation centers will provide some of the mechanisms that different inmates utilize to fight their mental condition. An assessment of the situation will provide better opportunities to develop strategic solutions to the crisis. The data from the different locations will be analyzed to determine common trends. The trends will help the strategic teams to determine the sources of their problems.
The data will be collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires will be designed using the 5-point Likert scale. The scale will be effective to help the inmates to provide solutions depending on their perception of the problem. Questionnaires will be distributed to the inmates and officers working in the various correction facilities. The involvement of the officers and the inmates will provide a comprehensive perception and understanding of the problem. It will be vital to examine the problem using different strategies to improve the quality of the responses.
Resources
The resources effective for the health program include the officers working in the various departments. The officers will provide quality data that will be essential in understanding the problem and the possible solutions. Inmates will be important resources since they will provide quality information that will depict the severity of the mental health problem among inmates.
Questionnaires are important tools in collecting data from the inmates. The questionnaires will be designed using the 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaires will be presented to the inmates who will fill them and return them.
A tool for analyzing the data will be vital in getting appropriate responses. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) latest version will be used in the analysis of data. The analysis of data is vital to enhance the quality of the response.
The officers manning various sections in the correction facilities will be vital in the data collection process. The officers will provide quality information on the response of the inmates regarding their mental health.
Formative Assessment
The program is appropriate in the criminal justice system to help the inmates to express their ideas about the causes of mental health. The program will involve collecting the data from the officers working in the correction facilities (Karim et al., 2019). Another benefit of the program is that it will help the officers and the inmates to indicate the possible solutions to the problems affecting them. The information will be relevant in developing strategies to address the crisis. Regular assessment of the mental health among inmates should be done to evaluate the problem and propose possible solutions.
Summative Assessment
An assessment of the mental health program is vital in understanding the risks and challenges that the inmates face. One of the outcomes of the program is that it will help the officers in the criminal justice system to take a proactive role to fight off the crisis (Drakeford, 2019). The crisis has been escalating for years leading to more cases of mental health and unreported cases. The cases have been thrusting the incidences of violence, suicide, and drug abuse among inmates. The Assessment is a unique study that evaluates the welfare of the inmates. The welfare of the inmates is vital to support the success of the reintegration into society.
Mental problems among the inmates is an issue that the government, civil society, and public have ignored. The neglect has been severe despite the rise in the number of inmates reporting mental health problems. Problems relating to the mental health issues such as violence, stress, depression, and hallucinations have been rampant (Drakeford, 2019). Despite the frequent reporting, the criminal justice system has taken inadequate measures to provide solutions to the problems. The analysis of the problem and development of the possible solutions is critical to the success of the state and federal governments.
Timeline
The timelines for the mental health program will involve a four-month engagement with the inmates. The first incidence is educating the inmates to ensure they develop the boldness to speak about and report the mental health issues. Educating the inmates is vital in eliminating stigma. The process of educating the inmates and officers will take one month.
The second step is to collect data from the inmates and the officers. Collecting data will require the use of questionnaires. The questionnaires will consist of uniform questions that will be easy for the participants to understand. The data collection process will take one month.
The third step is to analyze the data using SPSS software. The data will be cleaned to ensure the data is reliable and accurate. The analysis of the data will take three weeks.
The fourth step is to analyze the data and present a report. The report writing process will take at least two weeks.
Activity Timeline
1. Educating inmates 30 days.
2. Data collection 30 days
3. Data analysis 21 days
4. Presentation of a report 14 days
The table shows that the data should be elaborate to ensure individuals using the data and recommendation can make appropriate strategies.
References
Drakeford, L. (2019). Mental health and the role of religious context among inmates in state and federal prisons: Results from a multilevel analysis. Society and Mental Health, 9(1), 51-73.
Farrell, A. (2018). A Critical Analysis of Violence as a Symptom of Mental Illness in Orange is the New Black. Verso: An Undergraduate Journal of Literary Criticism, 9.
Galanek, J. D. (2015). Correctional officers and the incarcerated mentally ill: Responses to psychiatric illness in prison. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 29(1), 116-136.
Holt, G., Hardy, S., & Bouras, N. (Eds.). (2005). Mental Health in Learning Disabilities: A Reader. Pavilion.
Horn, M., Potvin, S., Allaire, J. F., Côté, G., Gobbi, G., Benkirane, K., … & Dumais, A. (2014). Male inmate profiles and their biological correlates. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(8), 441-449.
Karim, F., Mohamad, M., & Muhammad, N. (2019). Mental Health Mediate Social Support to Predict Quality of Life among Drug-Abuse Inmates. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 10(4).
Stringer, H. (2019). Improving mental health for inmates. Monitor on Psychology, 50(3), 46.
