Mental health services in the prisons of Bangladesh

Al Aditya Khan; Howard Ryland; Tayeem Pathan; Helal Uddin Ahmed; Amir Hussain; Andrew Forrester

doi:10.1192/bji.2021.34

Mental health services in the prisons of Bangladesh

BJPsych Int. 2021 Nov;18(4):88-91. doi: 10.1192/bji.2021.34.

Authors

Al Aditya Khan¹, Howard Ryland², Tayeem Pathan³, Helal Uddin Ahmed⁴, Amir Hussain⁵, Andrew Forrester⁶

Affiliations

¹ FRCPsych, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. Email: aladitya.khan@nhs.net.
² MRCPsych, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³ MRCPsych, Consultant Psychiatrist, Surrey and Border NHS Foundation Trust, Farnham, UK.
⁴ MD (Psychiatry), Associate Professor, Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁵ MPhil, General Member, Bangladesh Clinical Psychology Society, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁶ MD (Res), Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cardiff, Cardiff, UK.

Abstract

In this narrative review we consider what is known about mental health conditions in the prison system in Bangladesh and describe the current provision of mental health services for prisoners with mental health needs. We contextualise this within the literature on mental health conditions in correctional settings in the wider sub-continental region and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) more broadly. We augment findings from the literature with information from unstructured interviews with local experts, and offer recommendations for research, policy and practice.

Keywords: Bangladesh; forensic mental health services; low- and middle-income countries; prison; psychiatry and law.

Publication types

Review