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Introduction
Prison inmates who are either coming into prison custody for the first time or re-entering prison encounter new people, environment, and way of life which are in most cases hostile and extremely stressful (Partyka, 2001; Busko and Kulenovic, 1995; Corston, 2007). Overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, victimization and violence from other prison inmates and poor health conditions are some of the pains new prison inmates encounter as they serve their sentence in prison (Corston, 2007; Sykes, 1958; Mansoor et al., 2015).
Prisoners’ early time in prison is also associated with fear (Jacobson et al., 2007). Psychological distress has been reported to have higher prevalence in the prison population than in the general population. (Bland et al., 1998; Fazel and Danesh, 2002; Cherie, 2012; Reed, 2002). This finding has been replicated in various studies undertaken among prison inmates in Africa (Ibrahim et al., 2015; Mkize and Naidoo, 2012) and in Nigeria (Abdulmalik et al., 2014; Osasona and Koleoso, 2015; Armiya’u et al., 2013). This is more so during the early time in prison (Dachew et al., 2015).
Socio-demographic and forensic or penal variables, when considered, have been found to be associated with prisoners’ mental health (Nwaopara and Stanley, 2015). Prevalence of psychological distress has been reported to be higher among awaiting-trial prison inmates than among prison inmates who have been sentenced (Gunn, 2000). Some studies that considered length of time in prison also reported differences in the prevalence of psychological distress among prison inmates, with psychological distress more prevalent during the early days in prison custody (Dachew et al., 2015; Andersen et al., 2003; Harding and Zimmermann, 1989).
Screening for socio-demographic and forensic variables that may be associated with physical and mental health indices in prison as early as possible is very important as this may be an opportunity to identify risks and needs of these inmates coming into contact with a restrictive and regulated institutional setting for the first time (Lennox et al., 2009).
Prison inmates who are having acute ill health, communicable diseases, chronic non communicable diseases like systemic hypertension and diabetes mellitus, or who were on medications before their incarceration in prison can be identified during assessment on prison reception (Lennox et al.