Undergraduate students’ perspectives on the impact of a prison health course

Rose B Cameron,Jane A Buxton,Leeann Donnelly,Ruth Elwood Martin,Katherine E Mcleod

doi:10.1177/00178969211008954

Abstract

Objective:The stigmatisation of incarceration has significant negative effects on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. At the University of British Columbia in Canada, an undergraduate course on prison health included instruction by people with lived experience of incarceration as part of a teaching approach aimed to reduce stigma. In this study, we sought to understand the impact of this course as described by students.Design:Qualitative interviews with students who completed the course in 2017 were conducted by another former student of the course. Interviews were transcribed and interpretive descriptive methods were used to elucidate findings.Results:Nine former students participated in the study, eight (89%) were women and the median age was 23 years. Analysis yielded the following themes: (1) learning from people with lived experience, (2) de-mystifying through knowledge and understanding, (3) broadened perspectives and self-reflection, (4) future choices and actions and (5) changing views on incarceration.Conclusion:Findings suggest that approaches to address stigma in teaching prison health in an undergraduate course provided students with a deepened understanding of health inequities and determinants of health; increased feelings of compassion and interest in health equity for populations impacted by incarceration; and fostered opportunities for reflection, critical thinking and broadened perspectives.

Highlights

On any given day in Canada, approximately 39,000 adults are in custody and 104,000 adults are supervised in the community through programmes such as probation, community supervision and parole (Statistics Canada, 2018)
People engaged by the criminal justice system have a higher burden of mental and physical health needs and experience increased rates of injury and mortality compared to the general population (Kouyoumdjian et al, 2016)
This study aimed to explore the impact of prison health education, which included instruction by people with lived experience of incarceration, as described by undergraduate students who participated in the course

Summary

Introduction

On any given day in Canada, approximately 39,000 adults are in custody and 104,000 adults are supervised in the community through programmes such as probation, community supervision and parole (Statistics Canada, 2018). People with a history of incarceration experience barriers to healthcare services and negative health outcomes due to the stigma associated with criminal justice involvement (Abbott et al, 2017; Fahmy et al, 2018; Joudrey et al, 2019; Schnittker and John, 2007). Enacted stigma (external stigma, discrimination) refers to the experience of unfair treatment of others. Both felt and enacted stigma related to incarceration play a role in access to healthcare services for people who have experienced incarceration. Previous negative interactions with healthcare and the anticipation of stigma and discrimination may prevent people from accessing needed services (Moore et al, 2016)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion