Citation

Borschmann R, Young JT, Moran PA, Spittal MJ, Kinner SA. Lancet Public Health 2018; 3(1): e10-e11.

Affiliation

Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia; Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Mater Research Institute-UQ, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30243-8

PMID

29307379

Abstract

Self-harm is a global public health problem associated with increased morbidity, suicide risk, and premature mortality.1 The behaviour is more prevalent in marginalised groups, including people in prison. The burden of self-harm and suicide in prison is considerable; a study2 from the UK estimated that the annual prevalence of self-harm in prisons was 5–6% in men and 20–24% in women. With the global imprisonment rate increasing annually,3 the extent to which the burden of self-harm is concentrated in prisons is also likely to be increasing.

Growing evidence has shown that the incidence of suicide both in prison4 and after release5 is markedly higher than in the general population. However, until recently there has been little research examining the epidemiology of self-harm after release from prison. Our study of 1325 adults released from prisons in Queensland, Australia, documented high rates of ambulance attendance6 and emergency department presentation7 for self-harm following release. Factors associated with these emergency health-care contacts included identifying as Indigenous, previous emergency health-care contact for self-harm, history of a mental disorder, and being identified by prison staff as being at risk of self-harm.

Imprisonment provides a rare opportunity to identify—and initiate care for—vulnerable people who might be at risk of self-harm. However, in many countries, those at risk come to the attention of prison staff mainly through reception screening...

Language: en