Control and choice in English prisons

Developing health-promoting prisons

Bibliographic Data

ID22945168
AuthorsJ Woodall (0000-0003-1989-3999, University of Leeds, corresponding author), Rachael Dixey (Leeds Beckett University), Jane South (0000-0003-1462-7632, Leeds Beckett University)
Year2014
Volume29
Issue3
Pages474-482
Publication date2014-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Promotion International (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0957-4824 • E-ISSN: 1460-2245
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/heapro/dat019
PMID23574692
OpenAlexW2167776711
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited34

The 'health-promoting prison' has been informed by a broader settings-based philosophy to health promotion which conceptualizes health as the responsibility for all social settings. Though in its relative infancy, the notion of a health-promoting prison has gained political backing from international organizations like the World Health Organization, but the implementation of the policy rhetoric has not translated across all prison environments. The aim of this paper is to consider how key elements of health promotion discourse-choice, control and implicitly, empowerment-can apply in the context of imprisonment. These concepts were examined in three category-C (secure) prisons in England, through interviews with 36 male prisoners and 19 prison staff conducted by the first author. Analysis showed that prisoners negotiated the norms, structures and strictures of prison life by both relinquishing control and also by taking control, showing resistance and exercising some element of choice. The paradox is that, as most prisoners are expected to be released at some point they need to exercise some agency, control and choice, but these learning experiences may be constrained whilst 'inside'. The paper argues that if a settings approach in prison is truly to move forward, both conceptually and practically, then health promoters should seek to embed the key values of health promotion within the prison setting.

Agency (philosophy) · Context (archaeology) · Criminology · Element (criminal law) · Empowerment · Health care · Health promotion · Imprisonment · Political science · Politics · Prison · Public relations · Rhetoric · Social science · Sociology · Child Abuse and Trauma · Community Health and Development · Law · School Health and Nursing Education