Feasibility of introducing a cardiovascular intervention in prison V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the feasibility and acceptability of introducing a Behavioural Cardiovascular Risk Reduction (BCVRR) intervention into a Scottish prison
IRAS ID
169585
Contact name
Andrea R.M. Mohan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Stirling
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 2 days
Research summary
This study seeks to answer the following research question: what is the feasibility and acceptability of introducing a behavioural cardiovascular risk reduction (BCVRR) intervention in a Scottish prison?
There are few published studies involving behavioural interventions to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in prisoners. There is a high prevalence of CVD risk factors in prisoner populations compared to the general population. For example, the prevalence of smoking in Scottish prisoners was 78% compared to 26% in the general population in 2007.
Many interventions do not include behaviour change strategies, yet they try to target the most common CVD behavioural risk factors for prisoners - smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. There is also a lack of consideration for the setting (or context) of the prison environment - interventions are not properly embedded into the daily workings of the prison system.
Currently, there are no published studies from Scotland which involve the use of behavioural strategies to reduce CVD risk factors in prisoners. This is a qualitative study which aims to: 1) explore the feasibility of introducing a behavioural intervention in a Scottish prison to promote cardiovascular health, and 2) generate data to inform the design of such an intervention and assess its acceptability.
The barriers and facilitators of health promotion (HP) interventions in a prison located in south-west Scotland will be explored by interviewing a purposive sample of the key stakeholders from the prison (prison managers, prison officers, HP staff, healthcare staff and prisoners). Their experiences and perceptions will be gained through semi-structured interviews.
Participants will be interviewed once, and the study is expected to last up to ten months. This study is Phase 1 of the PhD project. Ethical approval of Phase 2, testing the developed intervention, will be sought after Phase 1 is completed.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
15/WS/0058
Date of REC Opinion
8 May 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion