Correctional nurses' practices and perceptions of family engagement

In healthcare, family engagement has been recognized as critical to improved nursing care and outcomes. However, the practice of family engagement in corrections is unknown, despite the large amount of nursing care delivered there.

The study's aim was to describe correctional nurses' perceptions of family engagement and the extent to which it is practiced.

A qualitative descriptive study design was used, composed of semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted, including line-by-line coding.

The main themes of the study were: (a) Family engagement is rare, and (b) Systems friction which describe the lack of family engagement in correctional nursing practice, and the need to balance advocating for patients while maintaining a collegial relationship with correction staff.

Despite the lack of family engagement in correctional nurses' practice, most participants felt that family engagement would be beneficial for incarcerated patients but would require changes to institutional policies.