Commissioned by the Belgian federal government, a BelRAI Screener for the detention context was developed. The aim of this comprehensive screening instrument is to collect all information necessary for care providers inside prison to decide whether a penitentiary care trajectory is needed. This includes physical, psychological and social care needs. The objective is the improvement of quality of care for people in custody.
The identification of the items of the instrument is based on (1) a scoping review, (2) four expert panels with in total 10 experts from the field, and (3) examination of the interRAI assessment system to select interRAI-items that map the care needs that resulted from the scoping review and expert panels.
The BelRAI Screener Detention includes four sections: (1) medical past/history, (2) physical health, (3) mental health indicators and behaviours, and (4) social care needs. The BelRAI Screener Detention will be completed by care providers based on information they get from the person in custody and prison staff. The psychometric properties, and the suitability, feasibility and acceptability of the BelRAI Screener Detention will be tested in three Belgian prisons.
Introducing a comprehensive screening instrument to complete for every person that enters prison, is necessary at one side to improve quality of care, and therefore human rights of persons in custody. At the other side, shortage of staff and constrained budgets might challenge the feasibility and acceptability of the instrument once the implementation in correctional facilities begins.
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Dr. Kathleen De Cuyper
Research Manager, KU Leuven, Belgium
Dr. Kathleen De Cuyper is a clinical psychologist. She is research manager at LUCAS KU Leuven - Centre for Care Research and Consultancy, and coordinator of the Flemish Policy Research Centre Wellbeing, Public Health and Family. She is associate fellow of the interRAI consortium (www.interRAI.org). She is mainly involved in policy-driven research concerning (1) the development, evaluation and implementation of BelRAI instruments in mental health care and detention, (2) the prevention of seclusion and restraint in inpatient care settings, and (3) the organization of mental health care at the level of the services and the regions.
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Dr. Inge Jeandarme
Forensic psychiatrist, OPZC Rekem, Forensic Psychiatric Centre Antwerp, KU Leuven, Belgium
Prof. dr. Inge Jeandarme is a forensic psychiatrist/ psychotherapist. She is coordinator of a research unit (KeFor) at OPZC Rekem, associate professor at KU Leuven, faculty of law and criminology, and chief physician at the forensic psychiatric centre in Antwerp.
