Prison officers’ views on interprofessional collaboration in the transition phase from prison to community for male offenders with substance abuse issues in Norway - a mixed method study. Larsen, Hean and Ødegård Internationally, large groups of offenders are struggling with substance abuse issues. Reintegration after prison for these offenders, often struggling with complex psychosocial needs, has been one of the most challenging issues for decades within the criminal justice system. Academics, practitioners and policymakers are urging for a more effective approach. Complex social needs, like poor housing conditions, no employment, anti-social networks and mental health issues, demand a broad range of services across welfare agencies and well-functioning collaboration between professions.
The aim of this sequential non-experimental mixed method study is to explore Norwegian prison officers’ views on interprofessional collaboration in the transition phase from prison to community for male offenders with substance abuse issues. Prison officers are the ones closest to the offenders in their everyday life in prison. This group’s perspectives on interprofessional collaboration are essential in the process of reintegration after prison. The Norwegian Correctional Service, known for its focus on rehabilitation, provides an interesting approach to this matter. This study contributes important empirical findings on interprofessional collaboration in a crucial transition phase, which for decades has been an underdeveloped field of research. This sequential and descriptive mixed method design contains (a) a quantitative study (questionnaire) focusing on prison officers’ (N = 119) perceptions of interprofessional collaboration and (b) a qualitative study also focusing on prison officers’ perceptions (N = 12) of interprofessional collaboration, explored by a qualitative semi-structured interview. As the quantitative study informs the qualitative study, it is suggested that, together, the two studies contribute new insights into interprofessional processes with regard to the identification of main themes. The respondents, in both studies, vary in age, experiences and are working in small, medium and large prison facilities according to Norwegian standards.
Preliminary results will be presented.