Supporting prison nurses: an action research approach to education

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Prison Health Services
• Nursing Education

Background:

• Public prison healthcare commissioning fully devolved to NHS primary care trusts (PCTs) since April 2006.
• Goal: Offenders to receive healthcare services equivalent to the general population.
• Need for enhanced support for prison nurses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop, implement, and evaluate a bespoke educational program for prison nurses.
• To support nurses in meeting the goal of equitable healthcare access for offenders.
• To assess the impact of the educational intervention.

Main Methods:

• Action research approach.
• Partnership between a PCT and a university.
• Bespoke educational program for nurses in two prisons.
• Data collection via pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, focus groups, and stakeholder interviews.

Main Results:

• Positive impact on nurses' confidence and assertiveness.
• Enhanced clinical expertise and improved approach to change.
• Evidence of successful program implementation.

Conclusions:

• The action research project demonstrated positive outcomes and should continue.
• Future scope should include healthcare assistants and interprofessional learning.
• Implementation of clinical supervision and action learning sets is recommended.