NCJ Number
187969
Date Published
2000
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the Well Women Project (WWP), based for 12 months at the Adelaide Women's Prison (Australia); it focused on preparing women inmates to assume responsibility for their health by providing learning experiences for the inmates in the area of nutrition and practical food-related skills.
Abstract
The program's objectives were to improve the nutritional status of female prisoners, including those with special dietary requirements, through the use of appropriate clinical services; increasing nutritional balance and choice of food provided by the kitchen; decreasing the spread of infectious diseases and reducing the risk of food-borne illness through safe food handling practices and procedures; and increasing skills and knowledge of prisoners in relation to cooking, budgeting, nutrition, and childhood nutrition by means of a food and nutrition education program. Other objectives were to increase the participation of Aboriginal women in the WWP, implement ecologically sustainable strategies to support maintenance of the environment, and improve food services and nutrition education standards in South Australia's prisons. Transfer of the lessons learned in the WWP is now underway in all South Australia prisons. This project is an example of a successful health promotion pilot project based in corrections and supported by intersectoral alliances. A summary of the WWP recommendations is provided.