Mental Health Promotion in Prisons

18–21 November 1998, The Hague, Netherlands

A meeting of the WHO Health in Prisons Project was convened by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the project collaborating centre at the Directorate of Health Care of H.M. Prison Service of England and Wales, in association with Mental Health Europe (the European Regional Council of the World Federation for Mental Health).

The meeting considered the progress made in the Project, discussed project management issues, and included a workshop on mental health promotion, with expert-led discussions, for representatives of the 15 member countries of the Project. The meeting closed with invitational sessions, comprising a half-day visit to a custodial setting in The Netherlands followed by a one-day meeting for directors of prisons, prison psychiatrists and psychologists and other key prison staff, at which issues surrounding mental health promotion in prisons were considered. The meeting approved in principle a consensus statement on mental health promotion in prisons.