Abstract
The world prison population is growing at a rate well in excess of general population growth, with more than 10 million adults currently in custody around the world and around 30 million moving through prison systems each year. There is increasing recognition of the complex and chronic health needs of incarcerated populations, but evidence-based responses to these needs remain elusive. Most prisoners return to the community after a relatively short period of time in custody, however few transitional interventions for prisoners have been subjected to rigorous evaluation. This paper details the process of developing a service brokerage intervention for ex-prisoners in Queensland, Australia, and describes the resultant intervention. The intervention could be adapted for use in other settings and is amenable to methodologically rigorous evaluation. The collaborative design and development process involved extensive consultation with ex-prisoners and key government, community and consumer stakeholders. The intervention evolved considerably during the process of consultation, as we came to better understand the needs and priorities of our target population, and of the community organisations that served them. We consider genuine consultation with consumers, in a safe and supportive environment, to be an integral part of intervention research in this area. Given the poor outcomes experienced by many people after release from prison, evidence-based interventions developed in the way described here are urgently required.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2194-7899-2-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The world prison population is growing at a rate well in excess of general population growth, with more than 10 million adults currently in custody around the world (Walmsley 2011) and around 30 million moving through prison systems each year (UNODC 2008)
A comprehensive review of the literature revealed a large number of papers discussing transitional and post-release issues, a smaller number presenting cross-sectional descriptions of samples of ex-prisoners, fewer still reporting the results of longitudinal studies of ex-prisoners, and only a handful describing or reporting any sort of evaluation of a transitional intervention
There was little in the literature to guide development of the Passports intervention, we benefited from work documenting service brokerage interventions for other populations including people with an intellectual disability (Lennox et al 2004a; Lennox et al 2004b) and people recently diagnosed with HIV (Gardner et al 2005)
Summary
The world prison population is growing at a rate well in excess of general population growth, with more than 10 million adults currently in custody around the world (Walmsley 2011) and around 30 million moving through prison systems each year (UNODC 2008). The prevalence of mental illness is elevated, for post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic disorders and substance use disorders (Butler et al 2006; Fazel and Danesh 2002; Heffernan et al 2012). These complex and interconnected health problems are set against a backdrop of entrenched poverty and relative social disadvantage (Baldry et al 2003; Social Exclusion Unit 2002; Travis and Petersilia 2001)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
