Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH
Volume 12, Issue 3, Pages 185-199Publisher
EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1108/IJPH-10-2015-0034
Keywords
Offender health; Qualitative research; Mental health; Probation service; Qualitative secondary analysis; Transforming rehabilitation
Categories
Funding
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under the Research for Patient Benefit Programme [PB-PG-0807-14022]
- Mental Health Research Network
- National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR) [PB-PG-0807-14022] Funding Source: National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how the role in offender mental health for the probation service described in policy translates into practice through exploring staff and offenders' perceptions of this role in one probation trust. In particular, to examine barriers to staff performing their role and ways of overcoming them. Design/methodology/approach - Qualitative secondary analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 11 probation staff and nine offenders using the constant comparative method. Findings - Both staff and offenders defined probation's role as identifying and monitoring mental illness amongst offenders, facilitating access to and monitoring offenders' engagement with health services, and managing risk. Barriers to fulfilling this role included limited training, a lack of formal referral procedures/pathways between probation and health agencies, difficulties in obtaining and administering mental health treatment requirements, problems with inter-agency communication, and gaps in service provision for those with dual diagnosis and personality disorder. Strategies for improvement include improved training, developing a specialist role in probation and formalising partnership arrangements. Research limitations/implications - Further research is required to explore the transferability of these findings, particularly in the light of the recent probation reforms. Originality/value - This is the first paper to explore how staff and offenders perceive probation's role in offender mental health in comparison with the role set out in policy.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available