Issues and Innovations in Prison Health Research Methods, Issues and Innovations

This book constitutes the first publication to utilise a range of social science methodologies to illuminate diverse and new aspects of health research in prison settings. Prison contexts often have profound implications for the health of the people who live and work within them. Despite these settings often housing people from extremely disadvantaged and deprived communities, many with multiple and complex health needs, health research is generally neglected within both criminology and medical sociology.  Through the fourteen chapters of this book, a range of issues emerge that the authors of each contribution reflect upon. The ethical concerns that emerge as a consequence of undertaking prison health research are not ignored, indeed these lie at the heart of this book and resonate across all the chapters. Foregrounding these issues necessarily forms a significant focus of this introductory chapter.  

Alongside explicitly considering emerging ethical issues, our contributing authors also have considered diverse aspects of innovation in research methodologies within the context of prison health research.  Many of the chapters are innovative through the methodologies that were used, often adapting and utilising research methods rarely used within prison settings. The book brings together chapters from students, scholars, practitioners and service users from a range of disciplines (including medical sociology, medical anthropology, criminology, psychology and public health).   

Chapter One – Introduction (Dr Matthew Maycock, Dr James Woodall, Prof Rosie Meek)

Chapter Two - Participatory Research In Prison: Rationale, Process And Challenges (James Woodall)

Chapter Three Promoting Health Literacy With Young Adult Men In An English Prison

 (Dr Anita Mehay, Professor Rosie Meek, Professor Jane Ogden)

Chapter Four – Challenges And Practicalities In Adopting Grounded Theory Methodology When Conducting Prison Research (Nasrul Ismail)

Chapter Five - The Research Experience From An Insider Perspective (Dr David Honeywell)

Chapter Six - Prisoner Experiences Of Prison Health In Scotland (Dr James Fraser)

Chapter Eight: The ‘Dead Zone’ In The Stories Of People In Prison (Alan Farrier)

Chapter Nine - Evaluation And Reflections From The Use Of Implementation Science To Accommodate A Community Mental Health Awareness Programme To A Prison (Dr. David Woods And Dr. Gavin Breslin)

Chapter Ten – Oral Health As A Door To Promoting Psychosocial Functioning For People In Custody: Lessons Learnt From The Development Of The Mouth Matters Intervention. (Ruth Freeman)

Chapter Eleven - Health Arts And Justice (Dr Alison Frater)

Chapter Twelve: Pregnancy In Prison (Dr Laura Abbot)

Chapter Fourteen: More Than Just A Game: The Impact Of A Prison Football Team On Physical And Social Wellbeing In A Welsh Prison. (Jamie Grundy, Professor Rosie Meek)

Index