A progress report on Doctoral research focusing upon an exploration of the experiences of women with an Intellectual Disability in secure services, a narrative enquiry in their own words

The Bradley report (2009) set the direction of travel for supporting people with intellectual disability (ID) in the criminal justice system (CJS) and recommended collaborative working schemes to best to serve the ID population. Bradley (2009) also recommended further research, training and ID awareness to be developed in conjunction with service users.

The Talbot review (Loucks 2007) stated that the prevalence of ID in the offending population remains unclear; however the review suggested that what remains clear is the impact of an ID on a person’s ability to cope with the CJS. Similarly, a person with an ID is at greater risk of re-offending. Talbot also indicated that research into specialist services can be problematic, but should not be avoided. Equally, there are areas of good practice that need sharing.

Secure services support people with an ID who may have experienced CJS, need security and have a health need. Women with an ID who have previously accessed or are currently accessing secure services and Registered Nurses who have supported and/or are supporting those women were eligible to take part in the research. Twelve women and twelve RNs were invited to participate on two occasions. Initially for an information session about the research, then for an individual interview, to hear the narrative in their own words.
Little research has been undertaken with women with an ID, and there is a similar picture with nurses who support them in secure services. This presentation will show how this research study has taken place with both these small distinctive groups. The purpose of the research study is to determine how women with an ID experience secure services, and how registered nurses (RNs) support those women. The presentation will illustrate the methodology adopted and the methods that were used in the research study. The data will have been gathered and some analysis will have taken place. There will be a discussion of the ethical implications and processes involved in this.