Evaluating an animation about prisoners' access to hospital care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating an animated film conveying the issues prisoners face accessing hospital care
IRAS ID
276733
Contact name
Julie George
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Surrey County Council
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 23 days
Research summary
Prisoners tend to have worse health and poorer access to health services than the general population. They are also a highly stigmatised population, often subject to judgement by the general public and NHS staff. However, many hospital staff are unaware of the specific difficulties prisoners face when coming to hospital, which presents a barrier to improving service quality and patient experience.
Researchers at University College London worked with prisoners in Surrey to create an animated film to convey these difficulties to hospital staff in a creative and engaging way. The film aims to inform staff about the issues, change attitudes towards caring for prisoners, and stimulate ideas for improving services.
We are working with three NHS Trusts to explore whether the animation can contribute to changing viewers’ knowledge, attitudes and ideas towards caring for prisoners, and how and in what contexts the film might have the greatest influence.
We are conducting focus groups with staff from three NHS Trusts. In the focus groups participants will discuss their prior experiences, assumptions and beliefs about prisoners and other excluded groups before watching the animation. After showing the film we will ask participants to discuss and reflect on what they have seen to assess whether the process has affected their knowledge, attitudes and ideas.
Our analysis will be underpinned by transformative learning theory, which describes how adult learners’ assumptions and beliefs can change in learning environments that challenge them to reflect on new information and question whether their underlying assumptions and beliefs are accurate.
We will disseminate our findings through academic publications, in a report which will go on the Wellcome Trust's website (The Wellcome Trust and Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership joint-funded the project), and through presentations at conferences and other professional meetings.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A