Development and validation of a peer support programme for the prisoners with mental and substance use disorders in India

Sreekanth Thekkumkara, Aarti Jagannathan, Krishna Prasad Muliyala, Pratima Murthy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
74 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of mental health problems and substance use disorders is high in prisons. There is a need to develop effective and sustainable models in prison to address their mental health demands.

Aim: The study aimed to develop and validate a peer support programme (PSP) for prisoners with common mental and substance use disorders (SUD).

Method: The PSP was developed by reviewing the literature and expert interviews and validated by seven experts.

Result: The expert interview brought out a total of 10 themes. The final components included in the content of the peer support interventions were information about mental health issues, identification of the cases, basic counseling skills, psycho‑education, early warning signs and symptoms, managing substance use by motivational interviewing, and suicidal gatekeeping.

Conclusion: This study describes the development of a comprehensive PSP, and it needs to be tested to examine its feasibility and effectiveness in addressing mental health problems in prison settings.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)316-321
Number of pages5
JournalIndian Journal of Psychiatry
Volume64
Issue number3
Early online date8 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Mental illness
  • peer support
  • prison
  • prisoners
  • substance use
  • suicide

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences
  • General Psychology
  • General Health Professions

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Development and validation of a peer support programme for the prisoners with mental and substance use disorders in India'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this