ACHLR members Dr Sam Boyle and Professor Ben Mathews have published a paper in the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy which assesses a program for young people involved in the youth justice system in Queensland. Sam and Ben worked with former ACHLR PhD student Dr Sinead Prince, as well as other QUT academics and members of the Department of Youth Justice on the study, which was assisted by a funding grant from ACHLR.
This article is titled ‘Improving Health to Reduce Risk of Youth Reoffending: Results of a nurse navigator program for people involved in the youth justice system’. It builds on previous research that shows young people in the justice system experience poorer physical and mental health compared to their peers, with higher rates of chronic diseases, mental health disorders, and difficulties accessing healthcare. Previous research shows that these health issues in turn can contribute to problems in other areas like education, employment and family relationships which are known to increase risk of criminal behaviour. Therefore, if a young person’s health is improved, their risk of involvement in crime may be decreased.
Under the Navigate Your Health program in Queensland, nurses provide health assessments and coordinate care for young people involved in the criminal justice system. A goal of the program is to reduce these people’s risk of reoffending by improving their health.
The study, led by Dr Sam Boyle, found that young people who participated in the program showed improvements in their overall health. Crucially, they also showed improvements in other areas identified as risk factors for crime, such as education, employment, and family relationships. This is important, because in most cases, the Navigate Your Health program did not provide any direct assistance in those areas. Therefore, this research supports previous research showing a causal relationship between poor health and problems in those other areas.
These findings suggest that improving health of young people in the justice system can have a positive impact on reducing the risk of reoffending. It supports the idea that health interventions should be a key part of efforts to prevent crime.
You can access the paper on the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy website.
