Improving collaboration between professionals supporting mentally ill offenders

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-12-2016-0072
• Published date: 12 June 2017
• Pages: 91-104
• Date: 12 June 2017
• Author: Sarah Hean,Atle Ødegård,Elisabeth Willumsen
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Improving collaboration between

professionals supporting mentally

ill offenders

Sarah Hean, Atle Ødegård and Elisabeth Willumsen

Abstract

Purpose –Interprofessional collaboration is necessary when supporting mentally ill offenders but little is

understood of these interactions. The purpose of this paper is to explore prison officers’perceptions of

current and desirable levels of interprofessional collaboration (relational coordination (RC)) to understand how

collaboration between these systems can be improved.

Design/methodology/approach –Gittell’s RC scale was administered to prison officers within the

Norwegian prison system (n ¼160) using an adaptation of the instrument in which actual and desired levels

of RC are evaluated. This differentiates between prison officers’expectations of optimum levels of

collaboration with other professional groups, dependent on the role function and codependence, vs actual

levels of collaboration.

Findings –Prison officers reported different RC levels across professional groups, the lowest being with

specialist mental health staff and prison doctors and highest with nurses, social workers and other prison

officers. Significant differences between desired and actual RC levels suggest expertise of primary care staff

is insufficient, as prison officers request much greater contact with mental health specialists when dealing

with the mentally ill offender.

Originality/value –The paper contributes to limited literature on collaborative practice between prison and

health care professionals. It questions the advisability of enforcing care pathways that promote the lowest

level of effective care in the prison system and suggest ways in which mental health specialists might be

better integrated into the prison system. It contributes to the continued debate on how mental health services

should be integrated into the prison system, suggesting that the current import model used in Norway and

other countries, may not be conducive to generating the close professional relationships required between

mental health and prison staff.

Keywords Collaboration, Norway, Mental health, Integration, Prison officers,

Relational coordination

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

The principles of risk, needs and responsivity (Andrews and Bonta, 2006) commonly underpin

strategies used by criminal justice systems (CJSs) internationally to reduce reoffending rates. This

focusses support, interventions and resources on those offenders most likely to reoffend, addressing

eight main reoffending risk factors (including substance misuse, lack of education and homelessness).

The mental health of the offender mediates the success with which these risk factors can be managed

(Skeem and Peterson, 2011). In providing support to an offender with mental health needs, multiple

workers from different health, social care and prison services overlap in their work activity and their

common aim to deliver comprehensive, high-quality care to the offender (World Health Organisation,

2010). Internationally, a common challenge is how best to integrate specialist mental health and

general health services into the prison so that services provides continuous and effective care.

Collaboration an d integration are relate d concepts sitting at the end s of the structure vs agenc y

continuum, with models of integration between services facilitating (or constraining) the

Received 6 December 2016

Revised 25 January 2017

Accepted 1 February 2017

The authors acknowledge the

extensive contribution of

professionals in the Norwegian

correctional and specialised

mental health services to this

study. The authors report no

conflicts of interest. The authors

alone are responsible for the

content and writing of this paper.

Funding: this study is funded by

the EU Commissions FP7 Marie

Curie Intra European Fellowship

funding scheme (FP7-PEOPLE-

2013-IEF 628010) (2014-2016).

Sarah Hean is an Associate

Professor at the University of

Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway

and Bournemouth University,

Bournemouth, UK.

Atle Ødegård is a Professor

and Elisabeth Willumsen is a

Professor in Social Work both

at the University of Stavanger,

Stavanger, Norway and Molde

University College, Molde,

Norway.

DOI 10.1108/IJPH-12-2016-0072 VOL. 13 NO. 2 2017, pp. 91-104, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200

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