Scoping Review of Mental Health Problems among Female Prisoners

Nur Oktavia Hidayati; Suryani Suryani; Laili Rahayuwati; Nur Setiawati Dewi

doi:10.3889/oamjms.2021.7322

Authors

Nur Oktavia Hidayati Department of Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjajaran, Bandung, Indonesia; Doctoral Study Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2325-2385
Suryani Suryani Department of Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjajaran, Bandung, Indonesia
Laili Rahayuwati Department of Community Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2732-3534
Nur Setiawati Dewi Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2021.7322

Keywords:

Female prisoners, Mental health, Prison

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Detention can cause problems and stressors for prisoners, one of which is mental health problems. Female prisoners have a high rate of mental health needs in prisons. Awareness and the ability to recognize prisoners’ health problems are important. Therefore, the mental welfare of female prisoners is the responsibility of each prison.

AIM: This review aimed to identify mental health problems among female prisoners.

METHODS: The method used was a scoping review. A systematic searched of the literature between 2000 and August 2021 on several databases and search engines, namely, PubMed, CINAHL, SAGE Journals, and Google Scholar using keywords in English, namely, mental health, female prisoners, and prison.

RESULTS: Of the 112 articles found, nine were eligible for inclusion. It was found that the mental health problems of female prisoners were anxiety, depression, substance abuse, stress, loss and grief, trauma, and suicide attempts that put them at risk of psychological distress. There was still limited study on female prisoners, especially to explore mental health problems in prison, and there were few studies discussing adjustment to female prisoners in prison, as well as mental health services which are still rarely carried out in prisons.

CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, it is recommended for future research to focus more on how female prisoners can access mental health services in prisons to overcome their mental health problems, conduct a deeper exploration of the extent to which mental health services in prisons have been carried out so far.

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