The group are contributing to the development of education and training in criminal justice and mental health through a series of national and local initiatives. We are undertaking a series of commissioned evaluations of training in prisons such as:
Offender Health Trainers Project
Coral Sirdifield and Professor Brooker are currently involved in conducting an impact assessment of a new Offender Health Trainers pilot in five prisons and one probation area in the UK. This concept was drawn from the 2004 Choosing Health white paper and involves training prisoners to do signposting/health promotion work with other prisoners. The pilot will be assessed in terms of:
- The impact of the training on Tutors and Offender Health Trainers
- Organisational consequences of the role
- Impact of Offender Health Trainers on clinical outcomes for prisoners
- The relationship between ‘early adopter’ sites in the community and the prison equivalent
Dual Diagnosis
Liz Hughes recently lead on a prison dual diagnosis training project which evaluated the effectiveness of training which aimed to increase individuals’ ability to deliver effective care to people with both a substance misuse and mental health problem; and to improve inter-agency working. This study involved an initial training needs assessment (questionnaire) for staff, a survey of service users’ views on staff training needs, and an evaluation of attendance and feedback on dual diagnosis training that was subsequently delivered to staff.
Prison Dual Diagnosis Training Project (PDF 302Kb)
Mental Health Awareness Training
Professor Brooker led a study to examine the implementation of a mental health awareness training workbook within each of the eight CSIP patches. The evaluation focuses on differences between the self-directed workbook and the taught course equivalent.
Mental Health Awareness Training for Probation Staff
Coral Sirdifield (Research Assistant) and Professor Brooker have
worked with National Probation Service (NPS) staff, and staff from
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to design a mental
health awareness training course aimed
specifically at probation
staff. This course was built on some training which had previously
been offered to NPS Leicestershire and Rutland staff. The contents
of this course include mental health myths, stigma and stereotypes,
factors impacting upon mental health; the Mental Health Act 1983;
mental health and probation practice, and an introduction to a wide
range of disorders. The PowerPoint presentations for this course are
available below, and course booklets may be available on request.'
Mental Health Awareness Training for Probation Staff (PowerPoint 2MB)
Mental Health Awareness Training for Probation Staff (PowerPoint 1MB)
This training has been rolled out across the East Midlands region and evaluated positively. The evaluation report can be viewed on the following link: MHATFINAL.pdf
For further information about this training, please contact us on csirdifield@lincoln.ac.uk