Project
East of England Prison and Hampshire Probation Peer Identification and Brief Advice in Offender Settings
Description:
This project was developed in order to optimise on the acknowledged benefits of peer education in Offender Settings using the established Health Trainer in offender setting service to deliver Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) for alcohol harm.
Offenders suffer significantly higher levels of poor mental and physical health than the rest of the population and it is an imperative that innovative ways are found to address these inequalities.
Health Trainers reach out to people who are in circumstances that put them at a greater risk of poor health. Health Trainers often come from, or are knowledgeable about, the communities they work with. In most cases, Health Trainers work from locally based services which offer outreach support from a wide range of local community venues.
Health Trainers work with clients on a one-to-one basis to assess their health and lifestyle risks. They have facilitated behaviour change, providing motivation and practical support to individuals in their local communities, since 2006.
Health Trainer Champions work with Health Trainers by providing clients with information and signposting them to the NHS and other community services that will help them to live healthier lifestyles and access the support they need.
The Department of Health (DH) considers that the National Health Trainer programme has already made a positive contribution to health improvement and has the potential to have a significant impact on health outcomes, particularly in deprived areas. The Health Trainer (HT) programme will actively contribute to DH priorities 2009–11, by embedding HT services as an integral part of the regional and local work on tackling health inequalities, lifestyle challenges and health improvement. Local Health Trainer services are usually commissioned and managed by NHS primary care trusts (PCTs) or local authorities and work in a broad range of settings.
Mainstream and in some cases in offender settings, Health Trainers’ clients can be referred by primary health care services, local authorities or voluntary organisations, or can self-refer. In many cases, Health Trainers work alongside colleagues in primary care services, helping to address some of the underlying causes of lifestyle-related ill-health.
There are approximately 150 HTs in Offender settings operational and mainstreamed nationally. Following a successful pilot in 4 prisons and 1 probation area 2005 which ran alongside the mainstream national service which was managed by National Programme Lead Offender Health following attaining initial funding (£260k), HTs in offender settings became an established service. HTs are qualified to a National standard (Royal Society for Public Health - level 2, City and Guilds - level 3).
Project status: Ongoing
Project type: Project
Project code: DP3E
