This study aimed to improve understanding of obesity in prison by investigating prison nurses’ perceptions of weight gain and obesity. In-depth semistructured interviews were carried out with 17 nurses who worked in two male prisons in the United Kingdom. Nurses identified a variety of factors that they believed contributed to obesity and weight gain in the prison setting. These included factors caused by prisoner behavior, such as poor food choices and sedentary lifestyle. Factors influenced by the prison environment, such as stress of imprisonment, prison regime, and prison culture, were also seen as significant. These factors were seen as barriers to the role of nurses delivering care in prison. Nurses explained how they adapted their role to overcome these barriers.
CharmazK. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). London, England: Sage.
3.
ClarkeJ. G., WaringM. E. (2012). Overweight, obesity, and weight change among incarcerated women. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 18, 285–292. doi:10.1177/1078345812456010
4.
CramptonR., TurnerD. S. (2014). Caring for prisoners-patients: A quandary for registered nurses. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing, 29, 107–118. doi:10.1016/j.jopan.2013.03.012
5.
CrandallC. S. (1994). Prejudice against fat people Ideology and self-interest. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 882–894. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.66.5.882
6.
CrandallC. S., MartinezR. (1996). Culture, ideology, and antifat attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1165–1176. doi:10.1177/01461672962211007
7.
CurtisA. (2014). “You have to cut it off at the knee:” Dangerous masculinity and security inside a men’s prison. Men and Masculinities, 17, 120–146. doi:10.1177/1097184X14533641
8.
de ViggianiN. (2012). Trying to be something you are not: Masculine performances within a prison setting. Men and Masculinities, 15, 271–291. doi:10.1177/1097184X12448464
9.
EvansT., WallaceP. (2008). A prison within a prison? The masculinity narratives of male prisoners. Men and Masculinities, 10, 484–507. doi:10.1177/1097184X06291903
HerbertK., PluggeE., FosterC., DollH. (2012). Prevalence of risk factors for non-communicable diseases in prison populations worldwide: A systematic review. Lancet, 379, 1975–1982. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60319-5
15.
JewkesY. (2002). The use of media in constructing identities in the masculine environment of men’s prisons. European Journal of Communication, 17, 205–225.
16.
Joint Prison Service and National Health Service Executive Working Group. (1999). The future organisation of prison health care. London, England: Joint Prison Service and National Health Service.
17.
KolotkinR. L., MeterK., WilliamsG. R. (2001). Quality of life and obesity. Obesity Reviews, 2, 219–229. doi:10.1046/j.1467-789X.2001.00040.x
18.
MannS. (2004). ‘People-work:’ Emotion management, stress and coping. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32, 205–221. doi:10.1080/0369880410001692247
MooreC. J., CunninghamS. A. (2012). Social position, psychological stress, and obesity: A systematic review. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112, 518–526.
21.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2014). Obesity: Identification, assessment and management. Retrieved from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg189
NewtonC. (1994). Gender theories and prison sociology: Using theories of masculinities to interpret the sociology of prisons for men. The Howard Journal, 10, 193–202.
24.
NolanC., DeehanA., WylieA., JonesR. (2012). Practice nurses and obesity: Professional and practice-based factors affecting role adequacy and role legitimacy. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 13, 353–363. doi:10.1017/S1463423612000059
PhillipsK., WoodF., KinnersleyP. (2014). Tackling obesity: The challenge of obesity management for practice nurses in primary care. Family Practice, 31, 51–59. doi:10.1093/fampra/cmt054
27.
PluggeE. H., FosterC. E., YudkinP. L., DouglasN. (2009). Cardiovascular disease risk factors and women prisoners in the UK: The impact of imprisonment. Health Promotion International, 24, 334–343. doi:10.1093/heapro/dap034
TorresS. J., NowsonC. A. (2007). Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity. Nutrition, 23, 887–894.
34.
TryonM. S., CarterC. S., DecantR., LaugeroK. D. (2013). Chronic stress exposure may affect the brain’s response to high calorie food cues and predispose to obesogenic eating habits. Physiology and Behavior, 120, 233–242.
35.
WeiskopfC. (2005). Nurses’ experience of caring for inmate patients. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 49, 336–343. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03297.x
