• Bruce B Way, Don A Sawyer, Deborah Kahkejian, Catherine Moffitt, and Stephanie N Lilly.
• Central New York Psychiatric Center (CNYPC), New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), PO Box 300, Marcy, NY 13034, USA. BruceWay@omh.state.ny.us
• Psychiatr Q. 2007 Dec 1; 78 (4): 269-77.

BackgroundStudies have demonstrated the importance of patient perceptions' of mental health service quality. No studies, however, could be found that surveyed recipients in prison, despite the rapid growth of patients, and litigation in these settings.MethodPatients were asked to complete an anonymous survey in private, and sealed it in an envelope.ResultsOf 613 respondents, most were satisfied (79%), agreed they had sufficient access to therapists (78%), were involved with treatment decisions (84%), and thought the MH services they had received would help them better deal with a crisis and emotional stress (75%). There were differences among mental health programs/housing units. Several of perception questions were significantly correlated with medication compliance, admission to crisis observation cells, and receiving disciplinary infractions.DiscussionRandom samples were requested, but likely only a convenience sample was obtained. However, the positive results suggest the need to strive to enhance patient quality of care ratings.

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