Through the Bullet-Proof Glass: Conducting Research in Prison Settings

Quina, Kathryn; Garis, Ann Varna; Stevenson, John F.; Garrido, María Concepción Domínguez; Brown, Jody; Richman, Roberta; Renzi, Jeffrey; Fox, Judith Hoos; Mitchell, Kimberly J.

doi:10.1300/j229v08n02_08

Cited by 30 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The challenges of conducting research in corrections have been well documented (Brewer-Smyth, 2008;Kalmbach & Lyons, 2003;Quina et al, 2007) and the need for developing a research infrastructure has been duly noted (Magaletta et al, 2007;Trestman, 2005). Simply documenting the concerns, however, does not bring us any closer to conducting applied research and implementing evidence-based practices to provide effective treatment to inmates.…”

Section: Strategies For Conducting Research In Correctionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting research in corrections: challenges and solutions

Wakai

Shelton²,

Trestman³

et al. 2009

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Research in correctional settings has progressed from the exploitation of a vulnerable population in the years prior to 1978 to its current overly protective and restrictive state. With the considerable growth in the numbers of inmates with medical and mental health care needs, developing effective interventions to serve this population is paramount. There now appear to be signs of interest in and support for research with inmates by correctional agencies, academia, and health care organizations. Innes (2003) has articulated the following strategies for implementing research in prison: (1) gather stakeholders; (2) include one or more experienced research collaborators; (3) consider obtaining technical assistance from a university or the National Institute of Corrections (NIC); (4) define potential opportunities/interests that support the institution's mission; (5) develop a relationship with an IRB; (6) pilot a small proposal that is of interest and potential value to the organization. The authors illustrate the implementation of a study in a correctional system that uses these strategies.

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Section: Strategies For Conducting Research In Correctionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting research in corrections: challenges and solutions

Wakai

Shelton²,

Trestman³

et al. 2009

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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“…These caveats not with standing, the small number of experimental studies in this field is remarkable. [146][147][148][149][150] Research in prison settings and postrelease is undeniably challenging and complex, 151 and remains shadowed by the legacy of ethically unacceptable research conducted during the 20th century. 152,153 Contemporary challenges included ethical issues, such as ensuring voluntary consent to participation, 152,153 restrictive regulations in many jurisdictions including in the United States, 152 institutional barriers such as the need for and costs of security staff to supervise research activities, and logistical difficulties such as following research participants through transfers and postrelease.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials of Interventions to Improve the Health of Persons During Imprisonment and in the Year After Release

et al. 2015

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We systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials of interventions to improve the health of people during imprisonment or in the year after release. We searched 14 biomedical and social science databases in 2014, and identified 95 studies.Most studies involved only men or a majority of men (70/83 studies in which gender was specified); only 16 studies focused on adolescents. Most studies were conducted in the United States (n = 57). The risk of bias for outcomes in almost all studies was unclear or high (n=91). In 59 studies, interventions led to improved mental health, substance use, infectious diseases, or health service utilization outcomes; in 42 of these studies, outcomes were measured in the community after release.Improving the health of people who experience imprisonment requires knowledge generation and knowledge translation, including implementation of effective interventions.Worldwide, more than 11 million people are imprisoned at any given time, and the prison population continues to grow at a rate faster than that of the general population. 1 Substantial evidence reveals that people who have experienced imprisonment have poor health compared with the general population, as indicated by the prevalence of mental illness, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and mortality. 2 There are several reasons to focus on improving the health of people who experience imprisonment. 3 The burden of disease in this population affects the general population directly through increased health care costs and through the transmission of communicable diseases (e.g., HIV, HCV, and tuberculosis) after people are released from detention. Imprisonment has also been associated with worse health in family members of those who are detained, compared with the general population, including chronic diseases 4 and poor mental health 5,6 in adult relatives and mortality in male children. 7 At the community level, higher rates of incarceration have been associated with adverse health outcomes, such as sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancies. 8 There is also evidence that poor health in persons who are released from detention, particularly those with inadequately treated mental illness and substance use disorders, 3 may affect public safety and reincarceration rates, 3 and that better access to health care is associated with less recidivism. 9,10 Finally, the right to health and health care is enshrined in international human rights documents, 11,12 and is a legislated responsibility of governments in many countries.Intervening during imprisonment and at the time of release could improve the health of people who experience imprisonment and public health overall. 13 To address this gap, we systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials of interventions to improve health in persons during imprisonment and in the year after release.We chose this population because we view imprisonment as a unique opportunity to deliver and to link with interventions for this population, and to highlight interventions t...

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“…14,17 In addition to the issue of funding, advancing prison health research requires examining and addressing the unique challenges and constraints of conducting research in correctional settings and with vulnerable populations. 6,18 Ethical issues, such as obtaining voluntary consent, privacy and not causing harm are challenging; 19,20 in contrast with the US, 19 we lack specific Canadian guidance on contemporary research issues with this population and in this setting. 21 Institutional barriers include the need for and costs of security staff to supervise research activities, and research may not fit within the mandate of correctional authorities.…”

Section: Pubmedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding of prison health research: a descriptive study

et al. 2017

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Background:Health research provides a means to define health status and to identify ways to improve health. Our objective was to define the proportion of grants and funding from the Government of Canada's health research investment agency, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), that was awarded for prison health research, and to describe the characteristics of funded grants. Methods:In this descriptive study, we defined prison health research as research on the health and health care of people in prisons and at the time of their release. We searched the CIHR Funding Decisions Database by subject and by investigator name for funded grants for prison health research in Canada in all competitions between 2010 and 2014. We calculated the proportion of grants and funding awarded for prison health research, and described the characteristics of funded grants.Results: During the 5-year study period, 21 grants were awarded that included a focus on prison health research, for a total of $2 289 948. Six of these grants were operating grants and 6 supported graduate or fellowship training. In total, 0.13% of all grants and 0.05% of all funding was for prison health research.

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Through the Bullet-Proof Glass: Conducting Research in Prison Settings

Cited by 30 publications

References 19 publications

Conducting research in corrections: challenges and solutions

Conducting research in corrections: challenges and solutions

A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials of Interventions to Improve the Health of Persons During Imprisonment and in the Year After Release

Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding of prison health research: a descriptive study

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