Relationships & Future Fatherhood (1)

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Relationships and Future Fatherhood for Young Incarcerated Men

  • IRAS ID

    243577

  • Contact name

    Maria Lohan

  • Contact email

    m.lohan@qub.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Queen's University Belfast

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 6 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    This project will develop an intervention with young men in prison that will help them increase their understanding and skills to;

    i) make healthier sexual and reproductive health decisions;
    ii) promote positive consensual relationships with partners; and
    iii) enable reflection upon the roles and responsibilities of fatherhood, and to plan future fatherhood in their lives.

    We will use arts-based participatory methods to support young men aged 16-21 years from 2 prison sites (Northern Ireland & Scotland). The intervention will include an interactive video drama, which we will make together with the young men and a professional media production company. We will all work together to develop a script and short scenarios for the film, based on the young men’s real life experiences around sex, relationship and parenting. At various points the film stops and articulates a question/dilemma that invites the user to imagine how they would react if they were in a similar situation.

    We will also develop lesson plans (worksheets and activities) based on their stories that will aid learning and group discussions. This will make health messages real and help them think for themselves about the importance of relationships and fatherhood.

    We will show the intervention to the young men, prison and Barnardo's staff (delivery partners) in each site, and interview them to assess if the programme is fit-for-purpose and suitable to deliver in prisons. We will collaborate with our stakeholders group that includes representation from the Prison Services, Departments of Justice & Health, and other advocates for prisoner health and rehabilitation, to develop the longer-term sustainability of the intervention. At study end we will have developed an innovative programme for a marginalised group of young men in society which will be ready to test in a feasibility and pilot trial in 2 UK prison sites.

  • REC name

    HSC REC A

  • REC reference

    18/NI/0090

  • Date of REC Opinion

    25 Jun 2018

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion