Loading
Worldwide more than 10.74 million people are currently being held in penal institutions and the global prison population rate is increasing. Mental illness is prevalent in prison populations, by far exceeding the rate of mental disorders in the general population. Prisoners are also a high-risk group for suicide and self-harm. These mental health issues are exacerbated with age: over 20% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder. As the world’s population ages rapidly, the number of the elderly in jails and prisons is increasing as well, at an exponential rate of 3 times that of the general prison population. Palliative care (PC) and dying with dignity are considered human rights to those who need essential pain treatment. This topic is even more important considering that the prison population is getting old and that there are negative attitudes about compassionate release. The aim of the project was to increase the response to mental health disorders within prisons and the quality of palliative and end of life care services provided by enhancing the competences of management and frontline staff to address prisoners’ mental health needs and the special needs of older prisoners. The project includes a partnership composed of 8 public and private institutions working in mental health, geriatrics and in corrections. The strategic partnership brings together multi-agency and cross-sectorial agencies (a PC foundation- HCS, 4 prison administrations – DGRSP, ANP, FOD Justitie, a private company specialized in prison staff training & innovation- IPS, a health sciences faculty- UBI, a university hospital- Helse Bergen, and the European representative of prisons and corrections-Europris) to develop new, innovative and integrated approaches to the field of adult education in prison and probation settings. In order to achieve the project objectives, MenACE partnership undertook the following activities: a state of the art and best practices review was made in the fields of mental health, ageism and PC, with a clear focus on these realities in the prison environment (IO1). Particularly, a questionnaire was developed to collect information in the partner countries. The literature review and collection of approaches underpinned the development of the second and third intellectual outputs, namely the training curricula and program (IO2) and the e-learning training course (IO3), addressing the current and future needs of prison staff in 3 key areas of learning: mental health, geriatrics, PC in prison. The integrated training program was designed to be delivered on a blended format, combining an e-learning course with classroom sessions. In parallel, a train the trainer course (IO4) was developed with the aim of ensuring dissemination and sustainability of the proposed approach over time. All outputs were piloted and fined-tuned by the Romanian, Belgian and Portuguese Prison Services. In the end, the partnership delivered a European roadmap with policy recommendations (IO5), that presents transversal and specific proposals regarding staff training, legal framework and services / resources / infrastructure for the 3 areas under analysis: mental health, geriatrics and PC in prison. The following tangible results were achieved during the project: 1 state of the art and best practices report• 1 panel of experts• 1 training toolkit• 1 training guide with detailed competences, skills and indicators• 6 training courses (The essentials of prison health, Mental health in prison, Geriatrics in prison, Palliative care in prison, Staff health and well-being in prison and Dynamic security) •1 learning management system•1 train the trainer course• 1 European roadmap with policy recommendation• 3 course manual• 304 participants to 6 multiplier event • 71 participants in the short term joint staff training events•133 trainees in the piloting of the training program and e-learning course.The project’s results contributed to the development and enhancement of prison staff’s transversal skills. All participants gained new knowledge and tools which are helpful and useful for their everyday work-related challenges and for the effective identification, supervision and care of prisoners. In specific an enhanced capacity of staff to recognize and manage mental health disorders• an improved capacity of staff to identify prisoners at risk of particular distress and anxiety• a greater awareness of age-related needs and challenges regarding social rehabilitation of older inmates• an improved healthcare and palliative care in the targeted prisons• a beneficial impact on the quality of life of prisoners and an improved diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders and age-related diseases in correctional settings. Further, as long-term results, we expect to raise awareness among policy makers about these important challenges that are part of public health.
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write('<div id="oa_widget"></div>');
document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.openaire.eu/index.php?option=com_openaire&view=widget&format=raw&projectId=erasmusplus_::f27cb5f45bb09132cfd0f2fd8f004476&type=result"></script>');
-->
</script>