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Abstract

Background: Treatment interventions are essential in supporting psychosocial skills, health promotion and successful reintegration to community living for incarcerated persons. Booster interventions are presumed to be important methods for maintaining the effects of treatment effects for persons with addiction and mental disorders, but there has been remarkably little empirical attention to this assumption. Objectives: This review aims are: (1) to describe existing literature on treatment programs for offenders with addiction and mental disorders in the reentry process, and, (2) to add to the literature on this topic by evaluating the impact of booster interventions upon maintenance of treatment effects and outcomes - specifically, a reduction in symptoms, reduced substance abuse, medication adherence, coping, independent functioning and decreased depressive symptoms. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for systematic reviews from January 2004 through January 2014 to include: CINAHL PubMed, and PsycINFO using selected keywords. Inclusion criteria were adult offenders, a treatment intervention in prison, jail, or forensic psychiatric hospital with a reentry focus for offenders with addiction and mental disorder. The AMSTAR was utilized to assess quality of the reviews. Results: Three systematic reviews were identified to examine treatment interventions for offenders with addiction and mental disorders. Little empirical evidence is available to demonstrate the contribution of booster interventions to overall treatment effects among justice-involved persons. Conclusion: Although evidence is not available, clinically it seems reasonable to expect booster interventions for offenders to reinforce treatment gains, strengthen self-care skills, and manage symptoms. Implications: Research designed specifically to study booster interventions are needed. Keywords: offender reentry, correctional institutions, offenders, treatment programs, mental illness, booster programs

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