The impact of primary mental health care in a prison system in Brazil

Objective: To analyze the impact of a psychiatric sen,ice in a prison gener al hospital that refers prisoners with mental disorders to a separate foren sic psychiatric hospital (FPH). Method: Analysis of data on prison population and referrals to the FPH. Results: Despite a 10.9% increase in the overall prison system population o ver 3 years, referrals from the prison general hospital with the new psychi atric service to the FPH were reduced by 36.5%, whereas referrals from othe r prisons increased by 120.4%. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the efficiency of the new primary healt h care approach.