Adopting a Holistic Approach to Alcohol Brief Interventions for Women in a Prison Setting in the UK: A Qualitative Exploration

Currently, women make up only 5% of the prison population, with 3604 women in prison in the UK compared to 74,981 men. Risky drinking is highly prevalent in both the male and female prison population, however, significantly more females drink in a risky way prior to prison (24% compared to 18% of men). In addition to risky drinking, those entering the criminal justice system (CJS), particularly women, are more likely to suffer from inequalities in society. Such inequalities can be linked to the pains of imprisonment for women. The overall research methods discussed in this paper are qualitative interviews. The interviews were designed after two systematic reviews exploring: the gendered pains of imprisonment and the feasibility and acceptability of women and alcohol brief interventions (ABI) were conducted. Interviews were conducted in an open prison setting, with both female residents and relevant staff and stakeholders. To date there is a dearth of evidence in relation to delivering ABI’s in prison, specifically with women. This research explored the feasibility and acceptability of delivering ABI to women in prison and found that when delivering ABI’s in a prison setting, by underpinning the research with criminological theory, could help women capitalise on the “teachable moment” necessary to induce behaviour change. The findings of the interviews found the intervention was both feasible and acceptable and identified five themes highlighting the women’s journey through prison chronologically to enable a more holistic ABI to be developed in future.