Peer support for adult social care in prisons in England and Wales: a mixed-methods rapid evaluation

The number of those in prison requiring social care support has increased in recent years due to factors such as longer sentences, an ageing prison population, and an increased reporting of historic offences. This has led to many adults in prison needing social care support for a range of conditions. In some prisons, prisoners are providing social care support for non-personal care tasks to other prisoners (called ‘buddies’). While these services are not mandated nationally, they have been proposed as a recommended solution to support social care provision in prisons.

Previous research has explored the delivery of wider peer support initiatives in prisons, but there has been little research to date evaluating the effectiveness, implementation and stakeholder experience of peer support schemes for social care. In addition to this, there is a need to establish how best to measure the impact and cost of peer support schemes for social care in prisons in England and Wales.

NIHR have conducted a study to fill these gaps and evaluate peer support schemes for adult social care in prisons in England and Wales, looking at the following questions:

1. What evidence on peer support schemes in prisons in general (including health, social care and educational needs) exists internationally (in relation to impact, cost, implementation and experience), what outcomes have been explored, and what data have been used?

2. What social care is provided in adult prisons in England and Wales, and to what extent are peer support schemes for social care used in prisons in England and Wales?

3. How are peer support schemes for social care implemented in adult prisons in England and Wales? What factors influence implementation?

4. What are the experiences of those delivering and/or receiving peer-supported social care in adult prisons in England and Wales? What are the risks and benefits? Do experiences differ across different models of peer support?

5. What are the outcomes and costs of peer-supported social care? What data are available to measure impact and cost?

6. How could impact and cost of peer support schemes for social care in prisons in England and Wales be evaluated in future?

To read the full article, click here: Peer support for adult social care in prisons in England and Wales: a mixed-methods rapid evaluation | NIHR Journals Library