1. Hoke, S. (2015).

Mental Illness and Prisoners: Concerns for Communities and

Healthcare Providers. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 20(1), 1.
Relevancy This article is mainly about reincarceration of people with mental
illness and factors inside and outside of prison that may effect that. This article is
not exactly what my topic is over but it provides some very useful information I can
use. It gives a good description of how mental health is dealt with in prison.
Accuracy I didnt detect any biases in this article. Its not putting anyone at fault
it is simply stating observations and possible explanations for reincarceration. It also
provides some ideas for how to prevent that.
Currency It was written in January of this month so it is very current. . It is
important to know the date of sources on this topic. If its up to date it gives you an
idea of the situation currently. If its out of date, It gives you an idea of how much
has changed.
Authority I couldnt find who the author is personally but this was written in a
nursing journal so Im assuming she is a nurse. It was double blind peer reviewed,
editorial board reviewed, and expert peer reviewed. Even if the author is not an
authority I think it holds credibility because it was published in a nursing journal and
it was reviewed by people of authority.
Purpose This article is strictly informational. The author is making observations
and providing ideas on why the reincarceration rate is so high for people with
mental illness. The information is clearly presented and unbiased.
Rating I would rate this as a 5. Its educational and backed up by plenty of
sources. Its been peer reviewed. Its also very current.
Annotation: This article looks at how social factors effects recidivism rates among
the mentally ill in prison. Social factors such as illicit drug use and unemployment
paired with subpar healthcare is believed to increase recidivism rates among
prisoners. I can use this article to determine what is already being done and what
happens when mental illness is not managed in prison and after. This article relates
to Mental Health of Prisoners: Identifying Barriers to Mental Health Treatment and
Medication Continuity because it discusses possible causes of recidivism.
2. Hills, H., Siegfried, C., & Ickowitz, A. (2004). Effective prison mental health
services: Guidlines to
expand
and improve treatment (2004 ed.).
Washington, District of Columbia: U.S. Department of Justice National
Institute of Corrections.
Relevancy This book is slightly relevant to my topic. It discusses almost every
population group in prison and effective ways to manage their mental health. It
might be beneficial to understand how to treat every population group but I think
that its almost too much information. I am looking for a more general approach to
mental illness in prison.
Accuracy I think this book might be slightly biased only because it was written by
a government agency. It provides good sources but it is more of an instruction
manual. Either way, the book is not pointing fingers it is just providing instruction on
how to handle different types of mental illness.
Currency Its not current. It was written in 2004. A lot of the information is still
similar but that was over 10 years ago and our knowledge of mental health has

grown vastly since then. I would say that how mental health is managed in prison is
different now then it was in 2004.
Authority The authors of this book are authorities on the topic. It was published
by the national institute of corrections so they have much experience with the
prison system and the inmates that are a part of it. Plus, the national institute of
corrections is respected and is not going to publish something that has not been
reviewed and approved.
Purpose This is an instruction manual. The intended audience are people working
in correctional facilities. It simply states the protocol of how to manage mental
illness in different prison populations.
Rating I would rate this at a 1. Its outdated and its not exactly what Im looking
for. Im sure there is relevant information but its too much information to sift
through.
Annotation: This is a manual designed to educate prison staff on different types of
mental illness that is frequently presented in prison. It also discusses how to
manage it and what to do if a situation arises. I might use this source as an example
of the care inmates with mental illnesses are being treated currently. Its not similar
to any of my other sources.
3. Reingle Gonzalez, J. M., & Connel, N. M. (2014). Mental Health of Prisoners:
Identifying Barriers
to Mental Health Treatment and Medication
Continuity. American Journal Of Public Health,
104(12), 2328-2333.
Relevancy This article is extremely relevant to my topic. It discusses how the
continuity of care for prisoners with mental illness is lacking. It also discusses how
only severely ill patients are treated. It provides an idea of what the potential
outcome for these shortcomings are.
Accuracy I dont detect any biases. Yes, they are revealing shortcomings of our
prison system and how we care for those with mental illness. Yes, there are harsh
words but it is all supported by credible references.
Currency It was published in 2014 so it is current. I doubt much has changed
within a year. It would also be interesting to see if some of the authors predictions
have come true within this one year.
Authority I believe this source has authority. It was published by the American
Journal of Public Health. The authors are affiliated with the Department of
Epidemiology, Human Genetics, & Environmental Sciences at the University of
Texas.
Purpose The purpose of this article is to inform and possibly to promote change.
It is intended for the public. It is clearly written and supported by facts.
Rating I am rating this as a 5. . Its educational and backed up by plenty of
sources. Its been peer reviewed. Its also very current and exactly what I am
looking for.
Annotation: This study looks mainly at mental health screening and medication
continuity in prison. They found that more than 50% of prisoners that were being
medicated for mental illness on admission didnt receive pharmacotherapy while in
prison. They say that a lot of this is due to poor health screening and leads to
increased recidivism. This relates to the first article written by Hoke.

4. Warrilow, A. (2012). Improving the mental health care of prisoners. Mental

Health Practice,
15(8), 20-24.
Relevancy This article is relevant to my topic. It discusses ways to improve the
management of mental health in prison, despite barriers. I can use this to show that
there is something that needs to be done and how to do it.
Accuracy It doesnt appear to be biased. It is simply stating there is a problem
and providing ways to help solve that problem. It doesnt use harsh language and it
is backed up by sources. The information is provided in a matter of fact way without
pointing fingers.
Currency It was written in 2012 so its not quite as current as some of my other
sources but it isnt out of date. . It is important to know the date of sources on this
topic. If its up to date it gives you an idea of the situation currently.
Authority It was written by an RN for Her Majestys Prison Service. The fact shes
an RN for a prison service holds some authority but Europes prison system might
be different from ours. Still I believe they would face a lot of the same illnesses and
a lot of the same barriers to treating them that we do. It was peer reviewed and
published in a nursing journal.
Purpose The purpose of this article is to inform and possibly promote action. The
author is describing discrepancies to how the mentally ill are being treated and
providing ways to improve. The audience is anyone in healthcare or anyone working
with prisoners.
Rating I would rate this as a 4. The article is discussing mental illness in prison in
general but she is from Europe so she might not have first-hand experience with the
US. Still she has good sources and relevant information. Its also quite current.
Annotation: This article describes why its so important to support mental health
for prisoners. The author discusses how cognitive behavioral therapy could treat
many mental health problems and wouldnt require a lot of resources. I will use this
as an example of steps that can be made to improve care of mental illness in the
prison population. It can be related to all of the sources I have in some way because
it provides a partial fix for the problem each article discusses.
5. Boseley, S. (2015, September 2). Ex-prisoners with mental health problems
'more likely to
reoffend' Retrieved September 30, 2015.
Relevancy This article is perfectly relevant to my topic. It discusses issues with
the prison system relating to mental health that I hadnt thought of. An example of
this is the want to avoid putting too much emphasis on mental illness as a reason of
violent crime. According to the article, people fear that by doing that others will
think that anyone with a mental illness is capable of violence.
Accuracy I dont support any biases. These article seems to hit all sides of the
issue. She references multiple studies and authorities on the topic. There are no
cited sources but one could easily find the sources from the information she
provided in the article.

Currency This article was written last month. It is important to know the date of
source on this topic. If its up to date it gives you an idea of the situation currently. If
its out of date it gives you an idea of how much has changed.
Authority The author has little authority on the topic. She is the health editor of
this online newspaper. She would know where to look and who to ask though.
Purpose The purpose of this article is to inform. It is presented from multiple
points of view and it information is clearly presented. The audience is the general
public.
Rating I would rate this as a 3. The article provides some great information from
valid sources but the author herself is not an authority on the subject. It a great
place to start though.
Annotation: This article discusses recidivism as well. It describes the reality of
mental health in prison and the barriers to treating mental illness. I will use this
article to help summarize the issue as a whole. It relates to all the other articles by
discussing the issue from a general standpoint.
6. Lets treat those with mental illness. The Leavenworth Times (KS) 14 Aug.
2015, Opinions: A4.
NewsBank. Web. 25 Sep. 2015.
Relevancy this article focuses a lot on the funding that goes behind mental illness
treatment. This is extremely relevant to my topic considering finances are one of
the biggest road blocks to treatment of mental illness in the prison system. The
article describes how it would be cheaper in the long run too prevent violent out
bursts then to wait until they happen.
Accuracy This is definitely an opinion piece. Its in the opinion section of a
newspaper and it doesnt have any references. She makes a lot of claims with
nothing to back them up. For example she states, we know that it costs 2-3 times
as much to confine the mentally ill in a hospital or jail but doesnt say how she
knows that or where she go that information.
Currency This was written less than 2 months ago. It is important to know the
date of source on this topic. If its up to date it gives you an idea of situation
currently. If its out of date it gives you an idea of how much has changed.
Authority The author has no authority on the topic. She is a writer for a
newspaper and wrote the story over debates that had recently taken place. What
she wrote was all opinion stemming from gun control.
Purpose The purpose of this article is possibly to inform but mainly to entertain or
promote conversation. Its presented from one point of view. The intended audience
is local readers of the newspaper.
Rating I would rate it as a 2. It has pretty much no credibility. It can lead to topics
to research further though.
Annotation: This article discusses changes that have been made in local
legislation regarding mental healthcare in Kansas. It doesnt quite discuss mental
illness within the prison system but it does discuss what takes place in the steps
before and after prison. I will use this as a source of general information about
recent changes in local legislation regarding healthcare. It does not relate to my
other articles as much because it doesnt discuss mental illness in prison.

7. Aalsma, M. C., Schwartz, K., & Perkins, A. J. (2014). A Statewide Collaboration

to Initiate Mental Health
Screening and Assess Services for Detained
Youths in Indiana. American Journal
Of Public Health, 104(10), e82-8 1p.
Relevancy This article specifically targets a younger population in Indiana. Its not
completely relevant because it doesnt target the American population as a whole.
It does provide some general information about my topic though.
Accuracy This information is provided free of errors. It doesnt have any biases
that I can detect. It also has many references where the information came from.
Currency It was written in 2014. It is still very relevant. The data most likely has
not changed by much in a year.
Authority The American Journal of Public Health published this article. This is a
trusted source and definitely carries credibility. The author also has a PhD.
Purpose This was a study done to investigate a statewide effort to implement
mental health screening and assess follow up services of detained youths. Its
purpose is to inform and shine a light on the need for better mental health care
before people get to prison. The author doesnt omit important data.
Rating I would rate this as a 3. It provides some useful information about the fact
that these mental illnesses can be detected and corrected at an early age. It doesnt
exactly relate to the population that I am researching though.
Annotation: This is a study about detained youths in Indiana. Its purpose is to
describe a statewide effort to implement detention-based mental health screening
and assess follow-up services offered to detained youths. Although this study is
quite specific, I can use it as an example of what works and what needs
improvement in the system we have today.
8. Robeznieks, A. (2015). BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BEHIND BARS AND
BEYOND. Modern Healthcare, 45(31).
Relevancy This source directly relates to my topic. It supports what I intend to tell
my audience. It will definitely be useful because I dont have any other articles like
it.
Accuracy I dont detect any biases. It cites very reputable sources. I didnt see
any errors.
Currency It was published in 2015. This is good because a lot of the article deals
with recent laws. You cant get any more recent than this.
Authority This was published by the Modern Healthcare journal. This is a
reputable journal. The author is credible.
Purpose The purpose of this article is to inform. Its presented from multiple
points of view. The intended audience is medical professionals, policy makers, and
the general public.
Rating I would rate this as a 5. It provides the exact information that I need. It
also is very reputable and current.
Annotation: This article focuses more on legislation and recent laws that have
been passed regarding mental illness. It also discusses the difference between an
inmate who receives mental health care verses one who does not. I will use this too

provide information on current laws and legislation regarding mental health care for
inmates.
9. Foley, L., & Papadopoulos, I. (2013). Perinatal mental health services for black
and ethnic minority women in prison. British Journal Of Midwifery, 21(8),
553-562 10p.
Relevancy This isnt completely relevant because of how specific it is. It only
targets perinatal black and minority prisoners. It does support my topic though.
Accuracy I didnt detect any unsupported claims or biases. This study compiled
different articles and reviewed them. This discredits some of the accuracy.
Currency It was published 2 years ago. But the other papers were published as
far back as 1991. This makes this source not very current.
Authority This source does hold authority. It was published in the British Journal
of Midwifery. Its authors are well esteemed and experienced.
Purpose The purpose was to provide a synthesis of published research on
perinatal mental health needs of black and minority ethnic women in prison. It is
informational. The audience is health care workers, prisons, and the general public.
Rating I would rate this a 1-2. Its not very current and its not closely related to
my topic. Ive got many other sources that provide more credible and relevant
information
Annotation: This article takes multiple other articles and compares them. It takes a
look at the research in each article to form connections. I will not use this in my
research because the other sources I have provide better information.
10.Mullins, J., & Paler, H. (2012). Identifying and transferring offenders with
mental health
needs. Nursing Standard,27(11), 42-47 6p.
Relevancy This article specifically deals with the tranfering. It isnt exactly
relevant to my topic but it does provide some general helpful information. It
supports my topic.
Accuracy I dont support any biases or unsupported claims. It cites many credible
sources. It is free of error and has been peer reviewed.
Currency This article isnt as current as my other articles. It was published in
2012. Some numbers could have changed but nothing significant has.
Authority This paper holds quite a bit of authority. The authors are both health
care professionals with much experience in mental health care in prison. It was
published in the journal Nursing Standard.
Purpose This article is to educate. Its intended audience is health professionals.
The information is clearly presented.
Rating I would give this source a 3. Its a couple years older and doesnt exactly
relate. It still provides helpful general information.
Annotation: This article gives a summary of the challenges involved in the transfer
of inmates with mental health problems between prisons and secure hospital
settings. It describes a case study demonstrating the importance of identifying
mental health needs to provide appropriate care and support, prevent further

mental deterioration and reduce the risk of offenders harming themselves or others.
This article doesnt exactly relate because it discusses transferring inmates I can
use it for its general information about the need for mental health care.