Preventing relapse to smoking among prisoners after release
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing and piloting a complex health intervention to preventing relapse to smoking among prisoners after release: Developing the evidence base
IRAS ID
254028
Contact name
Leah Jayes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Prisoners experience huge health inequalities, and their exceptionally high smoking prevalence (five times the national average) contributes significantly to their high mortality. Since the introduction of smoke-free polices across prisons in England and Wales, prisoners are obliged to abstain from smoking while incarcerated. This represents a unique opportunity to promote lifelong cessation in this highly disadvantaged and marginalised group. Work conducted as part of the Chief Investigators (CIs) PhD indicated however that most prisoners intend to resume smoking as soon as possible after release.
The primary objective of this mixed methods study will be to develop the evidence base in this area in order to explore and understand relapse to smoking after release from a smoke-free prison.The research will be carried out in three HMPPS prisons in the East Midlands to encompass a local, training and open prison site. During this project a scoping review of current cessation service provision will be carried out through interviews with current stakeholders, relapse to smoking upon transfer to open Category D conditions will be explored and a cohort of prisoners will be recruited over a three months period for follow-up after release into the community to establish smoking relapse rates and triggers. The findings from this project will inform the development of a prototype intervention to help prevent prisoners relapse to smoking after release into the community which in turn will be pilot tested in a future study.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NE/0086
Date of REC Opinion
10 Apr 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion