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The development and evaluation of a telepsychiatry service for prisoners

The development and evaluation of a telepsychiatry service for prisoners
The development and evaluation of a telepsychiatry service for prisoners
The introduction of increasingly sophisticated telecommunication systems seems to offer opportunities to respond to some of the key problems around structural and spatial inequalities in access to health care. There is evidence which suggests that serious mental health problems are common among prisoners and psychiatric comorbidity is the norm. Many prisoners have complex mental health needs, but more often than not these remain unaddressed. Telepsychiatry is one strategy to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health care in the prison setting. This paper firstly reviews the current prison health care system and then describes a research study which is focused on the development and evaluation of a telepsychiatry service for prisoners. This study has investigated what is lost or gained in a psychiatric assessment when it is conducted via telepsychiatry. The researcher compared the inter-rater reliability between two raters interviewing 80 participants in an observer/interviewer split configuration in telepsychiatry and same room settings. The measure used was the Comprehensive Psychopathology Rating Scale. Prisoners and prison staff also took part in semi-structured interviews which focused on their satisfaction and acceptability of the telepsychiatry service. A cost comparison of the telepsychiatry service with the existing visiting service was conducted. This paper outlines the study design and focuses on the potential impact that telepsychiatry may have upon the practice setting.
Comprehensive Psychopathology Rating Scale, inter-rater reliability, prison health care, prisoner, telepsychiatry
1351-0126
461-468
Leonard, S.
c9370747-b7ee-49ae-8837-3e84a5dd09d2
Leonard, S.
c9370747-b7ee-49ae-8837-3e84a5dd09d2

Leonard, S. (2004) The development and evaluation of a telepsychiatry service for prisoners. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 11 (4), 461-468.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The introduction of increasingly sophisticated telecommunication systems seems to offer opportunities to respond to some of the key problems around structural and spatial inequalities in access to health care. There is evidence which suggests that serious mental health problems are common among prisoners and psychiatric comorbidity is the norm. Many prisoners have complex mental health needs, but more often than not these remain unaddressed. Telepsychiatry is one strategy to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health care in the prison setting. This paper firstly reviews the current prison health care system and then describes a research study which is focused on the development and evaluation of a telepsychiatry service for prisoners. This study has investigated what is lost or gained in a psychiatric assessment when it is conducted via telepsychiatry. The researcher compared the inter-rater reliability between two raters interviewing 80 participants in an observer/interviewer split configuration in telepsychiatry and same room settings. The measure used was the Comprehensive Psychopathology Rating Scale. Prisoners and prison staff also took part in semi-structured interviews which focused on their satisfaction and acceptability of the telepsychiatry service. A cost comparison of the telepsychiatry service with the existing visiting service was conducted. This paper outlines the study design and focuses on the potential impact that telepsychiatry may have upon the practice setting.

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More information

Published date: 2004
Keywords: Comprehensive Psychopathology Rating Scale, inter-rater reliability, prison health care, prisoner, telepsychiatry

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 9776
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/9776
ISSN: 1351-0126
PURE UUID: cd72eff5-ac1f-4ac6-8cd0-b990e65159f8

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Date deposited: 23 Oct 2004
Last modified: 22 Jul 2022 20:22

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Contributors

Author: S. Leonard

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