Is prisoner knowledge of head injury improved after psychoeducation? 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Is prisoner's knowledge about head injury improved following a brief psychoeducation programme?
IRAS ID
234586
Contact name
Thomas McMillan
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
The aim of the study is to explore prisoners knowledge prisoners of head injury (HI) and whether knowledge is improved after a brief psychoeducation intervention about HI and the long term symptoms, effects and consequences. The study is intended to benefit prisoners by increasing their knowledge of HI with the purpose of applying this knowledge to help reduce the risks of further HI and reoffending.
Previous research estimates 94% of the prison population had experienced at least one traumatic brain injury of which approximately 60% sustained mild and repeated HI. Despite many prisoners being aware of their HI little is known about their knowledge of HI, symptoms and its long-term effects. Delivery of educational based interventions for head injury awareness has been identified as a key area for development in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
The study is open to all male offenders aged 18 and over serving a custodial sentence in HMP Low Moss, Grampian and Shotts. Participation will take place within the respective prison where participants are recruited from and recruitment target is 50.
Participants will attend a 45 minute 1:1 screening appointment to complete outcome measures; vignettes and symptom checklist to measure knowledge of HI; clinical interview to capture participant characteristics and offending history; self-report inhibition rating scale to measure impulsivity: Buss-Perry Aggression Quesionnaire (BPAQ) to measure anger and hostility and the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method to screen for head injury. Vignettes are short pieces of writing clearly describing characteristics of a person with a HI. Within four weeks of attending the appointment, participants will attend a one hour single session brief intervention group and complete vignettes and symptom checklists. After attending the group participants will be given a booklet summarising information delivered in intervention. Participants will be offered a follow up appointment at around one month after attending the group where they will complete a vignette, symptom check list, BPAQ and inhibition rating scale.REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
17/WS/0265
Date of REC Opinion
21 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion