Effectiveness of a Voluntary Nutrition Education Workshop in a State Prison

Abstract

Improved nutrition has implications for both prisoners and the penal system. This study evaluated a pilot intervention to improve nutrition in prisoners. Residents of a correctional substance abuse program (SAP) completed a health risk appraisal (HRA) upon entering the SAP and at completion. Nineteen participants in a pilot nutrition workshop were matched with 37 nonparticipant controls. Analysis of changes in HRA responses relating to nutrition, general health, and social ties found that a significantly greater proportion of participants than controls reported improved nutrition practices (23.5% vs. 3.2%, p = .047). Participants were 4 times more likely to report improved general health than controls (52.6% vs. 13.9%, p = .002). A smaller proportion of participants than controls reported improved social ties (10.5% vs. 30.6%, p = .18). This study suggests that inmate participants and the penal system may benefit from nutrition workshops. Further investigation should involve a larger study population.

A Systematic Review of Interventions to Improve Health Factors or Behaviors of the Cardiovascular Health of Prisoners During Incarceration

“…38 The third study evaluated the impact of education and behavioral workshops on the nutrition practices of prisoners. 32 This study found that nutrition education and reinforcement of positive healthy nutrition habits had a significantly positive effect on prisoners' nutrition practices.…”

“…The results from one study were published in two papers. 28,29 The studies were all carried out in high-income countries: four in the U.S.A., [28][29][30][31][32] two in Australia, 33,34 two in Spain, 35,36 and one each in Italy, 37 Belgium, 38 and Canada. 39 Eight studies included only males, [30][31][32][33][34][36][37][38] two included only females 28,29,39 and one included both males and females.…”

“…Three studies evaluated the effect of nutrition interventions (Table 3). 32,35,38 Two studies measured health-related outcomes such as BMI, abdominal perimeter, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. 35,38 Both studies evaluated interventions in which the diet of prisoners were modified.…”

“…Three studies received a strong overall rating, 35,36,38 four received a moderate overall rating [28][29][30]33,37 and four received a weak overall rating. 31,32,34,39 Most of the 'weak' studies had selection bias, did not report the withdrawal rates of participants or had high dropout rates of participants. Most studies received a strong rating for study design, considering confounders and using reliable data collection methods.…”

Impact of an Oral Health Education Workshop on Parents’ Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Perceived Behavioral Control among African Immigrants

“…With respect to recent immigrants, 2 Journal of Oral Diseases language and health literacy are two recognized barriers that would limit the impact of many existing dental education programs [9]. A community-oriented approach in the form of an interactive audio/visual workshop has been proven to be more successful than other traditional resources [11,12].…”