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Supporting women leaving prison through peer health mentoring: a participatory health research study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:During the transition between prison and community, people are at greatly increased risk for adverse health outcomes. This study describes a peer health mentoring program that supports women in the first 3 days after their release from a provincial correctional facility in British Columbia. METHODS:We used a participatory health research framework to develop multimethod processes to describe the Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentoring Program. Mentors are women with incarceration experience. Between 2013 and 2018, women released from Alouette Correctional Centre for Women were invited to access the program. All program clients were invited to participate in the surveys and interviews. We analyzed survey and interview data using descriptive analysis for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data. RESULTS:There were 346 program contacts from 340 women over the study period. For every contact, a telephone interview was conducted. Among the 346 contacts, 173 women met their mentor, of whom 172 (99.4%) completed the intake and consent forms. A total of 105 women (61.0%) completed a program activity feedback survey at the end of the mentoring period. Women identified a range of needed supports during the transition from prison to community, including access to clothing, social assistance, housing and health care. Participants described a mix of emotions surrounding release, including excitement, anxiety, hope, and a wish for understanding and support. Within 3 days of release, 49 participants (46.7%) had accessed a family physician, and 89 (84.8%) had accessed at least 1 community resource. Ninety-eight participants (93.3%) reported that their mentor assisted them in accessing community resources. INTERPRETATION:Peer health mentoring provides valuable, multifaceted support in helping women to navigate health and social services and to meet their basic needs. Strengthening health supports during the transition from prison to community is critical to promoting the health and well-being of women leaving prison.

SUBMITTER: McLeod KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7028165 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan-Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Supporting women leaving prison through peer health mentoring: a participatory health research study.

McLeod Katherine E KE Korchinski Mo M Young Pamela P Milkovich Tammy T Hemingway Christine C DeGroot Michelle M Condello Lara-Lisa LL Fels Lynn L Buxton Jane A JA Janssen Patricia A PA Granger-Brown Alison A Ramsden Vivian V Buchanan Marla M Martin Ruth Elwood RE

CMAJ open 20200101 1

<h4>Background</h4>During the transition between prison and community, people are at greatly increased risk for adverse health outcomes. This study describes a peer health mentoring program that supports women in the first 3 days after their release from a provincial correctional facility in British Columbia.<h4>Methods</h4>We used a participatory health research framework to develop multimethod processes to describe the Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentoring Program. Mentors are women with i ...[more]

PMID: 32071141

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Project description:ObjectivesIt is known that women are under-represented in senior positions within the health and medical research sector. The Franklin Women Mentoring Programme (Programme) is a professionally facilitated, cross-organisational initiative designed to support career development for mid-career women. The objective of this study was to evaluate Programme outcomes reported by participants 12 months following its formal conclusion.DesignExplanatory sequential mixed-methods study design using a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews.SettingHealth and medical research institutes in Sydney, Australia.ParticipantsHealth and medical researchers from the 2018 Programme.Primary and secondary outcome measuresChanges in knowledge, skills, behaviours and research metrics directly attributed to Programme participation.ResultsA total of 50 mentors and mentees participated in the cross-sectional survey (68% of the total cohort) and 14 mentors and mentees participated in the interviews. All reported changes to their knowledge, skills, behaviours and research metrics which were directly attributed to participation in the Programme. This included changes in knowledge and skills to be more inclusive (96% mentees, 83% mentors), resilience (88% mentees, 67% mentors), ability to have difficult workplace conversations (88% mentees, 71% mentors) and improvements in supervisory and team management (82% mentees, 75% mentors) skills. Positive impacts on promotions and grant opportunities were also reported. All evaluation participants believed this Programme was a worthwhile initiative for their workplaces to invest in.ConclusionParticipation in this cross-organisational, professionally facilitated, structured mentoring programme has led to positive outcomes for mentees, as well as mentors. Reported outcomes indicate the Programme is meeting its aims to support the career development of mid-career women in health and medical research, while facilitating a more inclusive workforce.

Project description:ObjectivesTo describe and reflect on the process of designing and delivering a training programme supporting the use of theory, in this case Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), in a multisite cross-country health services research study.DesignParticipatory research approach using qualitative methods.SettingSix European primary care settings involving research teams from Austria, England, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland.ParticipantsRESTORE research team consisting of 8 project applicants, all senior primary care academics, and 10 researchers. Professional backgrounds included general practitioners/family doctors, social/cultural anthropologists, sociologists and health services/primary care researchers.Primary outcome measuresViews of all research team members (n=18) were assessed using qualitative evaluation methods, analysed qualitatively by the trainers after each session.ResultsMost of the team had no experience of using NPT and many had not applied theory to prospective, qualitative research projects. Early training proved didactic and overloaded participants with information. Drawing on RESTORE's methodological approach of Participatory Learning and Action, workshops using role play, experiential interactive exercises and light-hearted examples not directly related to the study subject matter were developed. Evaluation showed the study team quickly grew in knowledge and confidence in applying theory to fieldwork.Recommendations applicable to other studies include: accepting that theory application is not a linear process, that time is needed to address researcher concerns with the process, and that experiential, interactive learning is a key device in building conceptual and practical knowledge. An unanticipated benefit was the smooth transition to cross-country qualitative coding of study data.ConclusionA structured programme of training enhanced and supported the prospective application of a theory, NPT, to our work but raised challenges. These were not unique to NPT but could arise with the application of any theory, especially in large multisite, international projects. The lessons learnt are applicable to other theoretically informed studies.

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Supporting women leaving prison through peer health mentoring: a participatory health research study.

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Supporting women leaving prison through peer health mentoring: a participatory health research study.

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