Evaluation of a Prison Occupational Therapy Informal Education Program: A Pilot Study

This pilot study explored the strengths and weaknesses of an informal education program and identified elements of the program valued by participants. Participants were men living in a minimum security prison who had been incarcerated for ten or more years. The outside researcher was joined by three former program participants as co-researchers. Together, they interviewed 27 residents who completed the informal education program. Interviews were transcribed and de-identified. Researchers used the summative content analysis approach to analyze the data. Initial content analysis yielded five concepts: doing (engaging in purposeful activities); information (program handouts and discussions that included data and descriptions of all of the topics discussed); re-entry fears (socialization; making amends with victims and/or reuniting with family and friends); technology (includes, but not limited to, using smartphones, internet and other technology in all areas of occupation); and self-worth as a person. Further interpretation per the summative content analysis method yielded three themes: doing (engaged in purposeful activities), validation of self-worth (confirmation of being a valued human being in spite of having committed a serious crime) and concerns about the future (being able to successfully engage in virtually all occupations). Whilst informal education programs may help people who are incarcerated gain information, gain a sense of self-worth and allay some reentry fears, understanding the long-term affect such programs may have such as preparing them for successful re-entry to society or reducing recidivism rates, will require long-term follow-up. Regardless of the occupational therapy intervention, the practice of occupational therapy in the criminal justice system needs to be client-centred. Because of the small number of participants and limited access to participants, one should not generalize the findings of this study to other situations or populations. Further research to examine the effectiveness of an occupational therapy education program is warranted. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.