@article{ref1,
title="Improving the quality of prison research: a qualitative study of ex-offender service user involvement in prison suicide prevention research",
journal="Health expectations: an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy",
year="2018",
author="Awenat, Yvonne F. and Moore, Currie and Gooding, Patricia A. and Ulph, Fiona and Mirza, Aisha and Pratt, Daniel",
volume="21",
number="1",
pages="100-109",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Suicide is the leading cause of avoidable death in prisons worldwide and suicide prevention is an international priority. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop evidence-based treatments. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a novel suicide prevention psychological therapy for male prisoners. To promote ecological validity by addressing the &quot;real-world&quot; situation of suicidal prisoners, we involved a consultant group of ex-offenders with past experience of being suicidal during imprisonment. Service user involvement in prison research is challenging and underdeveloped. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the ex-offender service user consultants' experiences of being involved in the research. <br><br>DESIGN: Individual qualitative interviews were conducted and analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA) framework. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: The study was conducted at a university in North England, UK, comprising four ex-offenders with experience of being suicidal during past imprisonments. <br><br>RESULTS: Two superordinate themes were identified: &quot;Working Together&quot; depicted participants' perceptions of the pivotal role of good relationships with researchers, and &quot;Journey of Change&quot; outlined how participants' involvement in the research impacted on their personal lives. <br><br>DISCUSSION: Little is known about how to successfully involve ex-offender service users in research. Our results indicate the conditions necessary for successfully engaging ex-offender service users in research and have important implications for improving the quality of prison research. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Involving forensic service users in research is feasible and should be encouraged, as despite certain challenges, it is highly rewarding both for the research and the ex-offender service users.<br><br>© 2017 The Authors Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1369-6513",
doi="10.1111/hex.12590",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hex.12590"
}