LoSCiP
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Lower level Social Care in Prison: Developing an Initial Programme Theory
IRAS ID
325782
Contact name
Katrina Forsyth
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
As many as one in ten men in prison have difficulty bathing, getting dressed and/or getting around the prison. Many also have problems with their relationships, childcare, accommodation, and money. However, many of these individuals will not meet the existing criteria for social care support.
Where people have ‘lower-level’ needs, the law states that local authorities must still consider how to improve people’s wellbeing. However, previous research and discussions with professionals suggest that little attention has been given to the services required by these individuals.
This study will:
i.Explore the nature and level of social care needs of people entering prison who are deemed not-eligible for local authority support;
ii. Find out what services are needed to address these lower-level problems;
iii. Identify who is best placed to provide these services (e.g. local authorities, other prisoners, third-sector providers, or a combination).To do this we will:
i. Review literature on social care needs of people on entry to prison and potential ways of meeting these;
ii. Interview a number of prisoners and staff providing their care about their social care needs on entry to prison, the help they get, and the support they need.Working together with a group of people with different expertise we will then use this information to design a model of care to meet these needs.
Prisoners interviewed will be male, and have recently started living in prison. This is a time when 'lower-level' needs are particularly acute. The staff interviewed will all work in prisons in a variety of roles. We will conduct our interviews with staff and prisoners at two prisons, HMP Forest Bank, and HMP Wymott. Interviews will last up to an hour and focus on the nature of 'lower-level' need and what is being done to address this.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
23/WA/0163
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion