| dc.description.abstract | Abstract: Sri Lankan prison system has
shown marked overcrowding for decades. It
is a common issue worldwide which
contributes poor care, loss of privacy, limited
resources and occupational deprivation. A
lack of access to basic human occupations
can lead to occupational deprivation. In penal
settings, occupational deprivation has been
suggested as a contributing factor in prison
riots, prison suicides, recidivism, episodic
disorientation and psychosis among inmates.
Therefore, it is important to observe the
current Sri Lankan prison system concerning
the occupational deprivation among prison
inmates. A cross-sectional descriptive study
was carried out in Welikada prison (male
section) situated in Colombo 09, aiming to
explore the time-use and occupational
engagement among sentenced prisoners
detained and to suggest suitable actions to be
taken to improve the correctional process. A
Purposive sample of 30 inmates between 18
and 55 years old was selected for the study.
Data collected via an informal semistructured
interview based on Occupational
questionnaire (Smith, et al., 1986) and
analyzed using qualitative and quantitative
methods. An overall time-use in a typical day
among participants were evaluated using
simple statistical methods under five
domains; work, daily living works,
recreation, leisure and sleep. Qualitative data
summarized under three main themes;
occupational choice and autonomy,
motivation for occupation and values of
occupation. The overall findings suggest that
the incarcerated environment promotes
occupational imbalance, passivity and
negativism, which shows an occupational
deprivation among the prison population.
The findings are suggestive of a need for an
occupational therapy intervention to the
prison institutions at large or individual and
group basis. | en_US |
