Nurses Teaching Prison Officers: A Workshop to Reduce the Stigmatization of Prison Inmates With Mental Illness

Abstract

PURPOSE: This report describes and evaluates the effectiveness of a nurse-led workshop designed to improve correctional officers' stigmatizing attitude toward inmates with mental illness. DESIGN AND METHODS: Eighty-three prison officers attended a 6-day workshop targeting the cognitive, psychoeducational, and behavioral components of publicly expressed stigma, and combining theoretical learning, observational experience on psychiatric wards, frontal lectures, case reviews, discussions, peer supervision, and simulations. The workshop's impact was measured systematically using a structured self-administered questionnaire examining cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of stigmatization. FINDINGS: The workshop significantly increased perceived knowledge and decreased stigmatizing attitudes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The evaluation presented here demonstrates a less-known aspect of the possible contribution of expert psychiatric nurses to mental health education in a wider context.