A Participatory Approach to Developing Preventative Health Tools for BC Individuals with Lived Incarceration Experience (P4H)

Project Funding: The Vancouver Foundation
Project Period: 2011 – 2014

The CCPHE recently completed a three-year project to promote holistic health and preventive practices for individuals with incarceration experience in the areas of mental health and addictions, cancer, and blood-borne infectious diseases. By sharing knowledge, supporting self-advocacy, and strengthening relationships, this project aimed to employ community-based participatory processes to develop, pilot and evaluate self-management, cancer screening, and peer coaching tools.

This project was developed in response to the findings of the CCPHE’s meetings in May and June 2011 with partners Long-term Inmates Now in the Community (L.I.N.C.) and Women in2 Healing (Wi2H). The groups met to determine areas of preventive health that the current project should explore. Formerly incarcerated men and women were invited to participate in focus group discussions where they identified the priority areas for this project: cancer, hepatitis C, HIV, mental health, and addiction. The findings indicated that many incarcerated persons developed feelings of alienation and ambivalence about the medical community. Barriers to care were reinforced by system complexities, mistrust, stigma and a feeling that “no one cared.” Additionally, personal impediments, including a lack of hope, low self-esteem, unhealthy relationships, isolation, and trauma, left men and women with a feeling that health was not a priority area for them. See below for the ‘iceberg image’ that resulted from these discussions.

Based on information gathered during the focus group discussions, the project team planned and implemented a series of interactive workshops for participants with incarceration experience. The workshop themes were as follows: Peer Support, Navigating the Healthcare System, hepatitis C prevention, transmission, and treatment, HIV prevention and care, mental health, addiction, cancer prevention, and cancer screening.

This project involved ongoing consultations with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons in BC, policy-makers, academic researchers, community organizations and stakeholders, and health care providers. During the final phase of the project, the project team evaluated and disseminated findings through traditional academic means, the CCPHE-hosted Health Beyond Bars: Towards Healthy Prisons in Canada conference, and media channels that advance a national dialogue. In addition, the project advisory committee members promoted knowledge transfer and uptake into their respective communities and organizations.

Project Publications and Resources: