The prison setting as a place of enforced residence, its mental health effects, and the mental healthcare implications

The subject of place is salient certainly when deliberating the health of prisoners as a social group. This paper provides an overview and assessment of health and place in relation to mental health and the prison locale. Particular attention is devoted to prison culture, both staff and inmate. The incarceration experience (i.e. the nature of enforced residence in the prison environment) can affect negatively prisoners' mental health. The mental health of the prison population is poor, and mental health services in the prison setting have need of further improvement. However, the provision of mental healthcare and the pursuit of good mental health in the prison milieu are challenging. The prison-based exceedingly complex three-way relationship between culture-mental and health-mental healthcare is debated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.