Evaluation of an Occupational Therapy Intervention in Prisons to Prepare Incarcerated Individuals for Successful Community Reentry

Background: Literature suggests that to reduce recidivism and facilitate successful community reintegration, incarcerated individuals need life skills training before release. This study evaluated the effectiveness of such an occupational therapy (OT) program. Methods: We provided and evaluated a 12-session pilot OT program with incarcerated men providing life skills education for community reentry. We used forced-choice and open-ended questions with pre/post Employee Self-Assessment Tool (ESAT), assessing interpersonal, self-management, analytical skills, and skills used in an organization, and Life Skills Program Daily Surveys (LSDS) assessing participants’ perceptions of program effectiveness. Results: Ninety-three of the residents participated; 69 completed the pre/post ESAT; 573 completed the LSDS across sessions. Statistically significant improvement (p < .001) was noted in all areas of the ESAT. Responses to all LSDS forced-choice questions indicated that most of the participants rated sessions good/very good (75%), learned a lot/quite a lot (69%) and as much/more than expected (95%), will apply most/all information to their life (58%), and probably would/would (85%) recommend this program to a friend; 50% to 72% of the responses regarding program content usefulness were positive. Conclusions: The participants found this program useful in providing life skills training to prepare them for community reentry. More research is necessary to determine long-term effects on recidivism.