The prison environments are venues where suicide rates have increased but it is rarely highlighted. Suicide in jails has been rightfully a matter of concern, however, the occurrence of little-recognized prisoner suicide that is so complex and perilous deserves due attention. Though the mortality rates among this population are much lower than those of conviction facilities, the disproportionate figures demonstrate the urgent need for a more integrated study and therapy. This paper considers fundamental questions like the prevalence of prison suicides, the causes and background of detainees, and the specific circumstances involved in this context. The American Correctional Association (ACA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Public Health Association (APHA), and National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) offer standards for this crucial problem in corrections systems.
Prevalence of Prisoner Suicide
Carson (2021) performed a study with data from 2000-2019 different US prisons on the suicide rate among prisoners and found that the number of those dying this way was much higher than that of a regular population. On average, from 2001 to 2019, suicides accounted for 5% to 8% of all deaths among state and federal prisoners and 24% to 35% of deaths among local jail inmates (Carson, 2021). These statistics underline the necessity to improve our understanding of the factors that either bring about or subvert the situation.
Factors Contributing to Prisoner Suicide
According to Kirkbride and colleagues (2024), mental health issues prevail in those who are put up behind bars, and depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders tend to be among the most prevalent afflictions. The insufficient extent of mental health services and the existing stigma surrounding mental illness in prisons are factors causing the high suicide risk among the inmates. Also, the limiting of prisoners’ physical movement and interactions can cause depression among the prisoners. Confinement, disassociation, and lack of activities to share, and meaningful opportunities for engagement enhance a feeling of rejection that may lead to suicidal thoughts. Although the seriousness of the mental health conditions provision in prisons is well known, getting standardized high-quality services is consistently neglected by the government’s rank-and-file entities. The unavailability of staff, nontrained mental health professionals, and a deficit of resources create gaps in mental health care delivery, hence leaving many without the required treatment (Dixon et al., 2020).
Consequently, crowded and scarcely staffed prisons become centers of close quarters and tension, which lead to elevated violence and stress, increasing suicide rates among inmates. High noise levels in cells, reduced space to move around and limited privacy generate claustrophobic conditions that enhance suicidal behavior (Dixon et al., 2020). Ultimately, many individuals in prison have pasts of despair, violence, and suffering, which is the main reason for their vulnerability to mental health conditions and suicidal thoughts. Being traumatized, either interpersonal or systemic, can exacerbate the complications of imprisonment and put the inmate under a higher threat of suicide (Dixon et al., 2020).
Characteristics and Histories of Victims
Dixon and colleagues (2020) point to having a mental problem or using drugs in a long-term sentence and those who have attempted suicide before or have experienced abuse or injury through their criminal activities. The characteristics of an individual such as age, sex, race, and how long one has been in prison may influence their risk of suicide. The young inmates, primarily the ones aged eighteen to twenty-two are more likely to attempt suicide (Zhong et al., 2021). Also, individuals with longer sentences and those who face disciplinary sanctions or are punished with solitary confinement, and the populations marginalized or discriminated against, such as LGBTQ+ members and minorities on grounds of ethnicity or race, may face other hardships of life that turn them into prey to the act of suicide (Kirkbride et al., 2024).
Contexts of Prisoner Suicide
Studies show that a suicidal person tends to be at a higher risk during a period of transition or crisis when being transferred or arrested in prisons and detention facilities or during serious life events like the death of a loved one (Zhong et al., 2021). Issues like overcrowding, understaffing, and lack of supervision make suicide attempts easy especially where the inmates are there in a setting with chances of self-harm (Zhong et al., 2021). Also, the subculture or the daily environment in the prisons, including inmate fights, gang activity, and drug addictions, influence suicide rates.
Key organizations’ standards have a critical impact in setting the directions for the creation of policies, practices, and interventions oriented on suicide prevention and mental health care provision in correctional facilities and driving the implementation process. First and foremost is the American Correctional Association (ACA), which is responsible for ensuring integrity in the American correctional system, as well as overseeing its management and administration, and has written its standards. These standards clearly outline mental health care and suicide prevention in jails and prisons in the US. The rules cover various fields including comprehensive mental health needs assessments of the inmates, easy access to mental health care services for inmates, training of staff on suicide prevention, and the development of suicide prevention protocols and intervention strategies (Faiver, 2020). Research that adheres to these standards allows a person to evaluate protocols found to be effective and gives a chance to implement evidence-based practices in prisons to save lives.
Likewise, the American Medical Association (AMA), which represents the doctors and promotes quality healthcare in prisons emphasizes delivering quality medical exposure and mental health care to the inmates. Furthermore, given that AMA’s policies provide an ethical basis for the role of professionals in charge of the mental health of the inmates, they draw red lines when it comes to equitable access to care, including suicide risk assessment and subsequent intervention (Faiver, 2020). Research concerning the AMA standards is performed to measure the level of provision of health care services in jail or prisoners, to determine the effects of interventions on the outcomes of patients, and to highlight the obstacles in the system concerning the quality of care.
Furthermore, the American Public Health Association (APHA), as a mainstream public health guardian, is in the limelight as a champion for research and policies that strive to make a difference among the incarcerated population. APHA’s politics concentrate on the significance of getting to know the social determinants of health, mental health equity, and support for legislation that aids in preventing suicides in prisons (Faiver, 2020). Research compliant with APHA standards emphasizes the community influence of prisoner suicide, even within populations that should be subjected to collected intervention. Finally, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) standards provide for healthcare delivery in jails and prisons that comply with the provision of complete and evidence-based care to incarcerated individuals. The NCCHC standards focus on the evaluations and solutions related to mental health demands, self-harm risk screening, crisis intervention protocols, and staff training criteria (Faiver, 2020). Evaluation of NCCHC standards is necessary to ascertain how the standards are implemented in correctional health care if the guidelines are observed, and what changes need to be made to increase the quality of mental health services delivery.
Conclusion
Prisoner suicide is a prevailing public health issue that requires uncovering and strategizing a potential treatment. Through analysis of occurrence rates in jails, factors that are related, characteristics of those who get involved, and environments in which suicides happen, this data provides the dynamics of this issue which can help to develop tailored approaches to prevention and support. It is imperative to support mental health care, eliminate environmental stressors, enhance social connections, and pay attention to gender and racial inequities to best prevent suicides in correctional facilities. Research complying with the stipulations of the American Correctional Association (ACA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Public Health Association (APHA), and National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) has a great impact on the amount of knowledge about prisoners’ suicide and ensuring the policies and practices in correctional mental healthcare are evidence-based. These standards, which serve to define the basis of the practice of health care in the prison environment, allow researchers to collaborate actively in the development of useful interventions, provide better patient results, and improve the physical and mental health of prison inmates.
References
Carson, E. A. (2021). Suicide in local jails and state and federal prisons, 2000–2019. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.
Dixon, K. J., Ertl, A. M., Leavitt, R. A., Sheats, K. J., Fowler, K. A., & Jack, S. P. (2020). Suicides among incarcerated persons in 18 US states: findings from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2003–2014. Journal of correctional health care, 26(3), 279-291.
Faiver, K. L. (2020). Correctional health care delivery: Unimpeded access to care. Charles C Thomas Publisher.
Kirkbride, J. B., Anglin, D. M., Colman, I., Dykxhoorn, J., Jones, P. B., Patalay, P., … & Griffiths, S. L. (2024). The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations. World psychiatry, 23(1), 58.
Zhong, S., Senior, M., Yu, R., Perry, A., Hawton, K., Shaw, J., & Fazel, S. (2021). Risk factors for suicide in prisons: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, 6(3), e164-e174.
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