title: Using a Delphi process to define priorities for prison health research in Canada.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A large number of Canadians spend time in correctional facilities each year, and they are likely to have poor health compared to the general population. Relatively little health research has been conducted in Canada with a focus on people who experience detention or incarceration. We aimed to conduct a Delphi process with key stakeholders to define priorities for research in prison health in Canada for the next 10 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a Delphi process using an online survey with two rounds in 2014 and 2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  We invited key stakeholders in prison health research in Canada to participate, which we defined as persons who had published research on prison health in Canada since 1994 and persons in the investigators' professional networks. We invited 143 persons to participate in the first round and 59 participated. We invited 137 persons to participate in the second round and 67 participated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants suggested topics in the first round, and these topics were collated by investigators. We measured the level of agreement among participants that each collated topic was a priority for prison health research in Canada for the next 10 years, and defined priorities based on the level of agreement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first round, participants suggested 71 topics. In the second round, consensus was achieved that a large number of suggested topics were research priorities. Top priorities were diversion and alternatives to incarceration, social and community re-integration, creating healthy environments in prisons, healthcare in custody, continuity of healthcare, substance use disorders and the health of Aboriginal persons in custody.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Generated in an inclusive and systematic process, these findings should inform future research efforts to improve the health and healthcare of people who experience detention and incarceration in Canada.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Fiona G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Kouyoumdjian
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrée
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schuler
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: McIsaac
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pivnick
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Flora I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Matheson
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D003697:Delphi Technique; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons / Q000592:standards*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012106:Research
keywords: Delphi technique; PUBLIC HEALTH; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; prisoners; prisons