"It's our mental health, it's not theirs!" A patient-oriented approach to women's intake mental health assessments in Canadian correctional institutions
| dc.contributor.advisor | Dell, Colleen | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Thompson, Scott | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Dickinson, Harley | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Ramsden, Vivian | |
| dc.creator | Cruz, Maria T | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-11-19T17:08:45Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-11-19T17:08:45Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2021-11 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-11-19 | |
| dc.date.submitted | November 2021 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2021-11-19T17:08:45Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | The mental health assessment tools currently used during institutional intake within Canadian correctional settings have been constructed on all-male samples. By drawing on the gaps in the literature, this research demonstrates the need for a gender-informed mental health assessment process for incarcerated women. This study draws on feminist standpoint theory and applies a patient-oriented research framework to engage women with lived experience throughout the research process. Fifteen phone interviews were conducted with two sample groups: five “Patients,” or formerly incarcerated women identified with mental illness; and ten “Service Providers,” or women from various chapters of the Elizabeth Fry Society. By drawing on feminist theory and applying thematic analysis, this thesis presents six identified themes in the data: first, participants called for incarcerated women to be in a safer, more comfortable environment during the mental health assessment; second, they discussed the components and measures that would be ideal for a women’s mental health assessment tool; third, participants suggested that the outcomes of the intake assessment should connect women to the necessary mental health services and programs; fourth, they identified the ideal individuals who should be conducting the assessment process, including their qualifications and credentials; fifth, participants discussed the components of a culturally informed mental health assessment process for incarcerated Indigenous women; finally, the last theme presented discusses participants’ ideas for implementing this process. Results were discussed in conjunction with the implications and directions for future research and concludes with an overview of the knowledge translation process. This thesis does not debate whether correctional systems are effective in reforming prisoners, but rather, critiques the valuation of the male perspective within correctional mental health assessments. Findings suggest how to improve outcomes for incarcerated women with mental illness through a gender-informed mental health assessment process based on their lived experience. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/13685 | |
| dc.subject | Incarcerated women | |
| dc.subject | Correctional mental health assessments | |
| dc.subject | Patient-oriented research | |
| dc.subject | Feminist standpoint theory | |
| dc.title | "It's our mental health, it's not theirs!" A patient-oriented approach to women's intake mental health assessments in Canadian correctional institutions | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Sociology | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Sociology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts (M.A.) |