The use of benzodiazepines and the mental health of women in prison: a cross-sectional study.

In this article we assessed the prevalence of benzodiazepine (BZD) use in women before and during imprisonment, as well as its related factors and association with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder in a quantitative, cross-sectional, analytical study of regional scope. Two female prisons in the Brazilian Prison System were included. Seventy-four women participated by completing questionnaires about their sociodemographic data, BZD use and use of other substances.

Work precarization in the prison system's primary health care.

This paper analyzes how work precariousness is expressed in the daily life of a Prison Primary Care Team in the Brazilian South. This qualitative, exploratory research applied the focus group technique and relied on the participation of ten health professionals. The results evidenced a substandard occupational relationship, objectified by the workforce's outsourcing, the poor proper management of work processes, and little provision for specific professional qualifications and actions consistent with the occupational reality.

Autonomy of long-stay psychiatric inpatients.

Objective: To assess personal autonomy of long-stay psychiatric inpatients, to identify those patients who could be discharged and to evaluate the impact of sociodemographic variables, social functioning, and physical disabilities on their autonomy was also assessed.

Methods: A total of 584 long-stay individuals of a psychiatric hospital (96% of the hospital population) in Southern Brazil was assessed between July and August 2002. The following instruments, adapted to the Brazilian reality, were used: independent living skills survey, social behavioral schedule, and questionnaire for assessing physical disability.