Self-harm in the criminal justice system: a public health opportunity

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Self-harm is a global public health problem associated with increased morbidity, suicide risk, and premature mortality.1 The behaviour is more prevalent in marginalised groups, including people in prison. The burden of self-harm and suicide in prison is considerable; a study2 from the UK estimated that the annual prevalence of self-harm in prisons was 5–6% in men and 20–24% in women. With the global imprisonment rate increasing annually,3 the extent to which the burden of self-harm is concentrated in prisons is also likely to be increasing.