Effects of Yogic practices on cardiovascular system and salivary alpha amylase on Indian healthy jail inmates

Objectives Imprisoned people usually have a poor health status and an increase risk to suffer chronic debilitating conditions, co-infection due to their limitations in physical activity and mental disturbances. This study was carried to find out the health impacts of Yogic practice of Indian healthy jail inmates. Methods It was interventional single group pre-post design study. A total no of 30, Jail inmates including 08 female were participated in this study and practiced Yoga for six months. Body Mass Index, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Salivary alpha amylase activity (SAA) a stress marker were assessed before, after three months and after completion of six months of Yogic practice. Results Improvement was noted in all parameters, but significant improvement was noted in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, double product a index of load in the heart and SAA following Yogic practice in total participants. Significant improvement was also noted in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, double product a index of load in the heart and SAA following Yogic practice in male group. No significant effect was noted in female group. Conclusions The present study revealed that regular Yogic practice resulted in reduction blood pressure, load in the heart and stress in mail jail inmates, when it is practiced regularly and carefully.

The ‘Olympic Hurdles’ of Obtaining Federal Benefits for Inmates with Disabilities: A Study of Two Massachusetts County Jails

Sixty-four percent of US jail inmates are reported to suffer from mental health issues, compared to just 18.9% of the general population. This disparity becomes greater when considering a broader definition of disability, and individuals with disabilities are overrepresented in correctional facilities. They are often left without the ability to find employment at reentry, with Supplementary Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) providing pathways to housing and improved living conditions. However, complicated application procedures often result in the formerly jailed returning to prior lifestyles and rearrests. This study explores SSI/SSDI systems at two Massachusetts county jails.

Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments

A large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of natural environments on people’s health and well-being. For people who have limited access to nature (e.g., elderly in nursing homes, hospital patients, or jail inmates), virtual representations may provide an alternative to benefit from the illusion of a natural environment. For this purpose and in most previous studies, conventional photos of nature have been used. Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments, however, can induce a higher sense of presence compared to conventional photos. Whether this higher sense of presence leads to increased positive impacts of virtual nature exposure is the main research question of this study. Therefore, we compared exposure to a forest and an urban virtual environment in terms of their respective impact on mood, stress, physiological reactions, and cognition. The environments were presented via a head-mounted display as (1) conventional photo slideshows or (2) 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos. The results show that the forest environment had a positive effect on cognition and the urban environment disturbed mood regardless of the mode of presentation. In addition, photos of either urban or forest environment were both more effective in reducing physiological arousal compared to immersive 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos.

New York City Jails: COVID Discharge Policy, Data Transparency, and Reform

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the release of New York City jail inmates who were at high risk of contracting the disease and at low risk of committing criminal reoffense. Using public information, we construct and analyze a database of nearly 350,000 incarceration episodes in the city jail system from 2014 - 2020. In concordance with de Blasio's stated policy, inmates discharged immediately after his order were at a lower risk of reoffense than inmates discharged during the same calendar week in previous years. The inmates in the former group were also slightly older, on average, than those in the latter group, although the overall age distributions of the two groups were quite similar. Additionally, the inmates of the former group had spent dramatically longer in jail than those in the latter group. With the release of long-serving inmates demonstrated to be feasible, we also examine how the jail population would have looked over the past six years had caps in incarceration been in place. With a cap of one year, the system would experience a 15% decrease in incarceration. With a cap of 100 days, incarceration would be just under 50% of the realized value. Because our results are only as accurate as New York City's public-facing jail data, we discuss numerous challenges with this data and suggest improvements. These improvements would address issues including inmate age, gender, and race. Finally, we discuss policy implications of our work, highlight some opportunities and challenges posed by incarceration caps, and suggest key areas for reform. It is striking that the de Blasio administration was able to identify inmates at low risk of reoffense and was willing to release them. Their success with discharge during the early stages of COVID-19 suggests that low-risk inmates could be discharged sooner in general.

Can the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality Be Used to Measure the Triarchic Model Constructs of Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition? A Scale Derivation Study

Can the components of the triarchic model of psychopathy (i.e., boldness, meanness, disinhibition) be operationalized using the item pool comprising the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP) model? To address this question, the authors first derived CAPP-based triarchic scales using standard item-selection procedures and then examined the external correlates of these provisional scales in three archival data sets: (a) U.S. jail inmates administered the institutional rating scale version of the CAPP and (b and c) prototypicality ratings of the CAPP traits provided by Swedish forensic mental health professionals and U.S. probation officers. Although most research on triarchic constructs has relied exclusively on self-report inventories, the results suggest that the CAPP model can be reorganized to reflect boldness, meanness, and disinhibition and that its institutional rating scale items can effectively quantify these constructs using interview and file review data. Implications for future research on the measurement and assessment of psychopathic traits are discussed.

'Orange is the new Blue': the start of organised colorectal cancer screening in a Milan penitentiary

Issue According to the United Nations basic principles for the treatment of prisoners, they “shall have access to the health services available in the country without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation”. In Italy this principle is executed by national legislation allocating responsibility for inmates' health directly to the National Health Service. In the Metropolitan City of Milan this duty is fulfilled by the Agency for Health Protection (ATS) that guarantees medical assistance in its penitentiaries. Description of the problem In Italy, cancer screening activities are considered essential levels of assistance i.e. guaranteed to all citizens. In fact, organised colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is offered by ATS, free of charge, to males and females, aged 50 to 74, in the form of a fecal immunochemical test every 2 years. Unfortunately, CRC screening uptake remains low among fragile patients, such as jail inmates, who are hard-to-reach by standard organised screening efforts. In 2019 the ATS Preventive Medicine Screening Unit began a small pilot organised CRC screening program, specific for inmates, starting in one of the city's main penitentiaries: Casa di Reclusione Milano Bollate, comprising 1200 inmates, and recently appointed nationwide referral center for elderly inmates. Results Inmates represent a large scarcely screened population that, following implementation of an organised tailored CRC screening program, showed high willingness to participate. Organised cancer screening programs may thus be necessary to guarantee maximum uptake among prisoners. Lessons Tailoring the organised CRC screening program to the prison-setting may increase adherence and ensure standardised coverage of the target population, eliminating disparity in the CRC screening service, and hopefully others in the future. Key messages Tailoring an organised CRC screening program to the prison-setting may increase adherence and ensure standardised coverage of the target population, eliminating disparity in the CRC screening service Organised screening programs could achieve extensive coverage and enhance equity of access in this hard-to-reach fragile population.

INSOMNIA IN JAIL INMATES: A STUDY FROM THE SUB HIMALAYAN REGION OF NORTH INDIA.

Introduction: Insomnia has been defined as having difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep, or experiencing early morning awakenings, with resultant daytime impairment.1,2,3 Insomnia is a serious condition that affects over 60% of the prison population and has been associated with aggression, anger, impulsivity, suicidality, and increased prison health care use. 4 Hence management of insomnia in jail inmates become important. Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed medications for insomnia. According to the FDA, fast-onset, short acting benzodiazepines should not be prescribed for more than five consecutive weeks, to avoid the risk of dependency. Though in reality, they are commonly used for longer durations which can lead to complications.5 Mirtazapine is an antidepressant drug with US Food and Drug Administration approval for the management of major depressive disorder. At lower doses mirtazapine is often used for management of insomnia. Methods: This study consisted of a sample of 40 jail inmates who were on benzodiazepine for insomnia. Benzodiazepine was cross tapered with mirtazapine. Insomnia was studied using daily sleep diary which was assessed weekly. Results: The study identified that mirtazapine at lower dose can be used for long term management of insomnia. Discussion: In long term management of insomnia not only medications but sleep hygiene, regular exercise and education regarding the effects of long term use of sedatives should be included as is done in general population. Keywords: jail inmates, insomnia, mirtazapine, benzodiazepine.