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Assessing needs for psychiatric treatment in prisoners: 3. Comparison of care received by black and minority ethnic prisoners and by white prisoners

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate to what extent mental health treatment needs are met in white and black and minority ethnic (BME) prisoners.

Methods

Treatment needs of a random sample of male (n = 197) and female (n = 171) prisoners were assessed with standardised instruments. Interventions provided were confirmed through face-to-face interviews and case note review.

Results

BME prisoners comprised 44% of participants. Treatment for depression, personality disorder and alcohol abuse was more often needed by White than BME prisoners. Needs were more frequently met in White than BME prisoners (48.5% vs 38.2%; p < 0.05), largely due to the delivery of psychological treatments.

Conclusions

BME prisoners had fewer of their mental health needs met.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Forensic Mental Health R&D Programme (Ref. MRD 12/83).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 7NF, UK

    Nigel McKenzie, Helen Killaspy, Sharon Jakobowitz & Paul Bebbington

  2. School of Population Health and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, Guy’s Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK

    Hamidi Faranak

Authors
  1. Nigel McKenzie
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  2. Helen Killaspy
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  3. Sharon Jakobowitz
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  4. Hamidi Faranak
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  5. Paul Bebbington
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Helen Killaspy.

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Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Thames Valley Research Ethics Committee (Ref. 05/MRE 12/52), in line with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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McKenzie, N., Killaspy, H., Jakobowitz, S. et al. Assessing needs for psychiatric treatment in prisoners: 3. Comparison of care received by black and minority ethnic prisoners and by white prisoners. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 54, 883–886 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01663-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01663-4

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