Citation

Kinner SA, Aon M, Borschmann R. Lancet Psychiatry 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00171-8

PMID

38823402

Abstract

Adrian P Mundt and colleagues' systematic review and meta-analysis of suicide rates in prisons in 78 countries shines new light on the unacceptably high rate of suicide among people in prisons internationally. Systems that deprive vulnerable people of their liberty must do more to prevent their untimely deaths. This important new work builds on previous systematic reviews that have been constrained by limitations of published data.

The authors' extraordinary efforts to obtain representative data directly from prisons in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), in addition to the published literature, sets a new bar for global prison health data synthesis. Despite these efforts, the bulk of the data came from Europe, with only a minority of studies from Africa and Asia, underscoring the pressing need for more and better data on the health of people who are incarcerated in LMICs. These crucial evidence gaps have persisted for too long.

Language: en