The Special Needs Program for Inmate-Patients with Dementia (SNPID): A psychosocial program provided in the prison system

Abstract

This article discusses a comprehensive psychosocial program developed for a prison in California – the Special Needs Program for Inmate-Patients with Dementia (SNPID). It describes the individual steps of the program, their content and their application in a system that has safety and security as its highest priority. An important and innovatory aspect of SNIPD is the role of other inmates in supporting inmates with dementia. The article concludes that psychosocial interventions can be appropriately applied in prison settings and make a difference in the quality of life for inmate-patients with dementia.

Keywords

dementia prison system psychosocial interventions

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (2002). Clark v California Remedial Plan (amended). Sacramento, CA: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; http://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/PC-CA-0005-0003.pdf .

Chamberlain, J. (2011). Life after prison. Monitor on Psychology, 42(5), 69-70, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/05/prison.aspx .

Clark v State of California (1997). 123 F. 3d 1267 - Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 1997 .

Cohen-Mansfield, J. (2001). Nonpharmacologic interventions for inappropriate behaviors in dementia: a review, summary, and critique. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 9(4), 361–381, http://journals.lww.com/ajgponline/Fulltext/2001/11000/Nonpharmacologic_Interventions_for_Inappropriate.5.aspx .

Davidson

(2007) Dementia: a systematic approach to understanding behaviour. Geriatrics and Aging 10(3): 182–101.

Farran, C. J., Gilley, D. W., McCann, J. J., Bienias, J. L., Lindeman, D. A., & Evans, D. A. (2007). Efficacy of behavioral interventions for dementia caregivers. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 29(8), 944-960, http://wjn.sagepub.com/content/29/8/944.abstract .

Fazel, S., McMillan, J., & O'Donnell, I. (2002). Dementia in prison: ethical and legal implications. Journal of Medical Ethics, 28(3), 156-159, http://jme.bmj.com/content/28/3/156.abstract .

Forbes, D. A., Peacock, S., & Morgan, D. (2005). Nonpharmacological management of agitated behaviours associated with dementia. Geriatrics and Aging, 8(4), 26–30, http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/503816_1 .

Hall, G. R. (1994). Caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease using the conceptual model of progressively lowered stress threshold in the clinical setting. Nurse Clinician of Northern America, 2(9), 129-141, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8121816 .

10.

Hodel

(2009) Improving dementia? First results of therapeutic interventions for inmate-patients experiencing dementia, Thousand Oaks, CA: Paper presented at the Festival of Scholars.

11.

Hodel

Sánchez

H. G.

(2008) Therapeutic interventions for inmates who suffer from dementia, Belfast, Northern Ireland: Paper presented at the Embracing the Challenge: Citizenship and Dementia.

12.

Hodel

Sánchez

H. G.

(2009) Therapeutic interventions for inmate-patients who suffer from dementia, Seaside, CA: Paper presented at the Forensic Mental Health Association of California.

13.

Hope, K. W., & Waterman, H. A. (2004). Using Multi-Sensory Environments (MSEs) with people with dementia. Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 3(1), 45-68, http://dem.sagepub.com/content/3/1/45.abstract .

14.

Mileham, M. (2005). Taking hospice inside the walls, Linfield Magazine (Vol. 2, issue 2, Article 5).

15.

Petersilia, J. (1997). Justice for all? Offenders with mental retardation and the California Corrections System. The Prison Journal, 77(4), 358-380, http://tpj.sagepub.com/content/77/4/358.abstract .

16.

Prison Law Office. (Undated, 14 November 2011). Major cases and achievements. from http://www.prisonlaw.com/cases.php .

17.

US Department of Justice: National Institute of Corrections (2008). Prison Staffing Analysis. A training manual with staffing considerations for special populations. NIC Publication 022667. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; http://www.asca.net/system/assets/attachments/2086/staffing_analysis-1-3.pdf?1296162143 .

18.

Weiss, D. C. (2007). Prison’s dementia unit – a first, ABA Journal: Law News Now .

19.

West, H. C., & Sabol, W. J. (2010). Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin: Prisoners in 2009. NCJ report No. 231675. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/p09.pdf .

20.

Williams, J. L. (2006). The aging inmate population: southern states outlook. Atlanta, GA: Southern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments; http://www.slcatlanta.org/Publications/HSPS/aging_inmates_2006_lo.pdf .

21.

Woods, B., Spector, A. E., Jones, C. A., Orrell, M., & Davies, S. P. (2005). Reminiscence therapy for dementia, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews .