Review: Silence of a scream: application of the Silences Framework to provision of nurse-led interventions for ex-offenders

Abstract

The reviewed study explores how nurses can truly recognise and respond to ex-offenders' health needs. The framework used follows that originally formulated by Laura Serrant (Serrant-Green, 2011) and is based on her doctoral thesis with black Caribbean men. The reviewer of the original paper (French, 2011) noted that the framework complemented quantitative data about factors influencing sexual health decisions, providing a way to understand how the social world is constructed and a deeper knowledge of what constitutes reality for individuals. Likewise, this holds true in this paper within the context of the health pathway followed by ex-offenders. The paper was particularly interesting and adds to the nursing literature on three counts.First, the exploration of the 'Silences Framework' in another setting is to be commended. The paper picks up the challenge in many qualitative studies to show the authenticity or 'validity' of research methods by applying the approach, or 'replicating' the design, with different groups. This not only helps the reader to form views about the strength and authority of the earlier study, but also provides legitimacy in this case. This was a challenge set up by Serrant when she developed the tool (Serrant-Green, 2011) and suggested that it was presented for use by other researchers.Second, the paper provides a framework to help nurses effectively address the health needs of ex-offenders -an area where there is a lack of research. As the authors point out, research findings are consistently presented from a professional perspective, which reinforces an outmoded stance where the voices of ex-offenders are missing. The authors recognise that released offenders are disproportionately impacted by considerable health needs when they leave prison, often living at the edge of society and finding access to health care in traditional forms difficult, again justifying the potential for nurse-led interventions.

Zimbabwean parents' experiences of bearing and raising children in the UK

“…Such an approach enables ('silences') voices embedded in subjective experiences which are distanced from dominant discourses, under researched or actively silenced to be brought to light (Serrant-Green, 2011). This highlights the potential of the framework to be adapted in different research contexts with a focus on under researched issues which are silent from popular discourse as it emphasises the value of individual interpretation of experiences (Davies, 2015).…”