Interprofessional Collaboration in Reintegration After Prison for Prisoners with Substance Abuse Issues: A Scoping Review

Bjørn Kjetil Larsen,Atle Ødegård,Karl Yngvar Dale

doi:10.5204/ijcjsd.1951

Abstract

Reintegration after prison for prisoners with interlinked welfare needs has been one of the most challenging issues for decades in the criminal justice system. The WHO and the UN highlight the demand for well-functioning collaboration between professionals and welfare agencies handling these challenges. However, interprofessional collaboration has been an underdeveloped field of research and theory, especially concerning prisoners with substance abuse issues. The present study undertakes a scoping review of research on interprofessional collaboration in reintegration after prison for prisoners with substance abuse issues, particularly identifying factors that influence collaboration. Nineteen included studies from the USA, the U.K., Australia, and Norway show that relational and structural factors influence collaboration and that innovative projects are perceived as improving collaboration. A tentative conceptual model of factors that influence collaboration is presented and may serve as a basis for reflection and further development of a theoretical framework within the field of research.

Highlights

Prisons are predominantly populated by prisoners with substance abuse issues who will face interrelated, complex issues upon their release from prison (Binswanger et al 2012; Blas 2007; Cepeda et al 2015; Chikadzi 2017; Fazel and Wolf 2015; Friestad and Kjelsberg 2009; Revold 2015; Schinkel 2014; United Nations 2019)
This review aimed to provide an overview of research on interprofessional collaboration in reintegration after prison, especially concerning prisoners with substance abuse issues
To meet the complex welfare needs of prisoners, a first step may be to bring different professions together; a crucial second step should address how to integrate these resources in a way that is advantageous for the offender who is in urgent need of welfare services

Summary

Introduction

Prisons are predominantly populated by prisoners with substance abuse issues who will face interrelated, complex issues upon their release from prison (Binswanger et al 2012; Blas 2007; Cepeda et al 2015; Chikadzi 2017; Fazel and Wolf 2015; Friestad and Kjelsberg 2009; Revold 2015; Schinkel 2014; United Nations 2019). The United Nations has highlighted the importance of collaboration among external stakeholders to meet the challenges involved in reintegration processes, stating that “promising practices are achieved in collaboration with external stakeholders, such as non-governmental organizations [NGOs], volunteers, families, national service providers, communities or external employers” (Gisler, Pruin and Hostettler 2018: 4). Dysfunctional collaboration implicitly influences welfare services provided to prisoners negatively This may result in repeated crime and reincarceration; further, recent research has revealed that prisoners released from prison have a substantially higher risk of overdose and death than the general public (Borschmann et al 2020; Fazel and Wolf 2015)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion