Analysis of the prison population's mental health in Sars-Cov-2 pandemic: Qualitative analysis

Psychiatry Res. 2021 Feb:296:113669. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113669. Epub 2020 Dec 24.

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the possible impacts on the prison population's mental health in the context of the new COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative study was carried out following a lexical and content analysis using the software IRaMuTeQ, version 0.7 alpha 2, in the speech of the short communication and headlines from newspapers. Three groups emerged from the analysis: "spatial conditions for infection" (39.2% of the text segments); "disease outbreaks in prisons" (30,4%) and "public responsibility" (30,4%). Precarious conditions of prisons, high rate of infections and psychiatric illnesses, and lack of government assistance are issues that should be given special attention in order to formulate health promotion and prevention policies focusing on mental health in prison population.

Keywords: Coronavirus infection; Health promotion; Mental health; Prison; Public health.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • COVID-19 / prevention & control
  • COVID-19 / psychology
  • Comorbidity
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Evaluation Studies as Topic
  • Health Promotion
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Mental Disorders / prevention & control
  • Mental Disorders / psychology
  • Prisoners / psychology
  • Prisoners / statistics & numerical data*
  • Public Assistance
  • Risk Factors