Mental Health Care in Prisons

The prevalence of mental health illnesses within correctional institutions is high, with some estimates reaching 25%. This is in part due to the transinstitutionalization that occurred in the last century. Transinstitutionalization describes the movement of mentally ill from publicly funded mental health hospitals to nursing homes and correctional institutions. The increase in mental health illnesses in prisons not only burdens the prison health care system, but it further compromises the mental health status of prisoners with mental health diseases.…