Citation

Ramluggun P. J. Forensic Nurs. 2013; 9(1): 23-34.

Affiliation

Author Affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University Campus Suffolk, University of East Anglia School of Nursing Sciences, Norfolk Prison Cluster, HMP Norwich, and Royal College of Nursing.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, International Association of Forensic Nurses, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1097/JFN.0b013e31827a5984

PMID

24158098

Abstract

UNLABELLED: : There are a growing number of prisoners who self-harm in prisons in England and Wales despite adopting a safer custody ethos. An in-depth study of staff views of self-harm from various agencies within the prison and the integration of their different forms of expertise and perspectives to address this problem is lacking. Negative attitudes to self-harm have been identified as an additional risk factor to this problematic behavior. AIM: : This study identified and compared relevant attitudinal dimensions of custodial and healthcare staff on prisoners who self-harm in an Adult Male "Local" Category B prisons (referred to as the study prison) where self-harm was twice the national average (14%). METHOD: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 37 prison staff (14 nurses and 23 prison officers) as part of a mixed methods research study where documentary evidence and a self-harm questionnaire were also used. This paper discusses and presents the findings for the thematic analysis of the semistructured interviews. FINDINGS: The key themes identified were understanding self-harm, building relationships, organizational issues, occupational issues, and care management of self-harm. The findings suggest that most prison staff felt unsupported and inadequately equipped to manage self-harm, and reported interdisciplinary conflict on its collective management.

Language: en