Editorial

Citation

MacDonald, M. and Kane, R.G.a.D. (2013), "Editorial", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 9 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-06-2013-0026

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Prisoner Health, Volume 9, Issue 3.

Welcome to issue 9 (3) of the journal.

We are pleased to share editorial space with Anne Norman, who will share reflections on criminal justice nursing practice in the UK. Anne's contribution will follow shortly; we would first however, like to introduce the papers that comprise this issue.

In our first paper, Emma Heard, Allyson Mutch, Lisa Fitzgerald and Rob Pensalfini report on research that aimed to investigate the impacts of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble Prison Project (QSEPP) on the health and well-being of participants, specifically with regard to social support. The programme under consideration ran over 12 weeks involving weekly workshops that combined a range of theatre activities with Shakespearean texts, and culminated in a performance of Shakespearean work by the participants for other inmates, prison staff and invited guests from the wider community. The authors note that the findings of this exploratory research highlight the potential for drama to be used as a tool for health education and promotion concluding that the QSEPP encouraged participants to foster a range of support networks through the development of relationships built on trust, respect and shared experiences. Participants also developed communication skills which may assist with establishing and maintaining supportive relationships inside and outside of prison.

Jaimie P. Meyer, Jeffrey A. Wickersham, Jeannia J. Fu, Shan-Estelle Brown, Tami P. Sullivan, Sandra A. Springer and Frederick L. Altice consider the association of intimate partner violence (IPV) with specific HIV treatment outcomes among criminal justice (CJ) populations who are disproportionately affected by IPV, HIV, mental and substance use disorders (SUDs) and are at high risk of poor post-release continuity of care. Using a mixed methods approach, the research team describe the prevalence, severity and correlates of lifetime IPV exposure among HIV-infected jail detainees enroled in a novel jail-release demonstration project in Connecticut, USA. Results indicated that nearly half of the research participants had significant IPV exposure, which was associated with female gender, longer duration since HIV diagnosis, suicidal ideation, having higher alcohol use severity, having experienced other forms of childhood and adulthood abuse, and homo/bisexual orientation. Interview data also confirmed that IPV was also associated with disengagement from HIV care especially in the context of overlapping vulnerabilities. The authors observe that IPV was prevalent and severe among released jail detainees with HIV and that risks of IPV exposure and disrupted HIV treatment were magnified in contexts of untreated mental disorders and SUDs. Additionally, it was noted that IPV occurred during periods of dependence on partners, particularly in transition from jail or prison, during which IPV is a key component of social instability. The authors conclude that interventions aiming to improve HIV, SUDs or mental disorders, must address IPV in gender-specific ways that are tailored to individual contexts.

In their paper, Ruth Elwood Martin, Sue Adamson, Mo Korchinski, Alison Granger-Brown, Vivian R. Ramsden, Jane A. Buxton, Nancy Espinoza-Magana, Sue Pollock, Megan Smith, Ann C Macaulay, Lara Lisa Condello and T. Gregory Hislop describe a pilot nutrition and fitness programme, resulting from a unique prison participatory health research project in which women prisoners designed, led and evaluated a six-week pilot fitness programme in a Canadian minimum/medium security women's prison. The authors report that 16 women completed the programme reporting decreases in weight, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and chest measurements and improvements in energy, sleep and stress levels. The authors conclude that incarceration provides a unique opportunity to influence behavioural and environmental factors that can promote healthy changes for the female prison population. In this instance, the peer-led group programme class offered participants a safe, fun, effective alternative to exercise and the opportunity to experience group motivation in a supportive environment.

In our final paper, Morag MacDonald, Fatemeh Rabiee-Khan and Caren Weilandt draw on research carried out for the Health Promotion for Young Prisoners (HPYP) project funded by the Public Health Programme of the European Commission to assess the health promotion needs of vulnerable young prisoners and the existing health promotion activities in custodial settings in seven EU member states. Qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised by project partners to explore young prisoners’ concept of health and well-being. Data were gathered relating to the health promotion needs of young offenders, issues that have an impact on their health while in custody, the availability of different types/range of health promotion activities and suggestions for improving their health while in prison, opportunities for collaboration with other agencies in promoting young prisoners’ health, and obstacles to providing health promotion activities in Prison. The findings from the research have identified a number of similar, but also some diverse areas of unmet need for health promotion activities in prison settings across these diverse seven EU countries. There is no consistency of approach within and between countries regarding health promotion policy, guidance, resources and programmes for young prisoners. The authors conclude that there is a need for the establishment of National and EU standards to improve the health of young prisoners and to establish and increase sustainability of existing health promotion programmes.

Morag MacDonald, Robert Greifinger and David Kane