A qualitative study to reduce drug related harm during and post prison
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Reducing substance use-related harm among people in prison and on their release: A qualitative study
IRAS ID
341758
Contact name
Benjamin Gray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Public Health Wales
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
In this study, we want to find out how to make prisons and life after prison safer when it comes to drug and alcohol use. Drug-related deaths are a big problem in Wales. More people die from substance use in prison than outside of prison, and many who are in the community on probation accidentally overdose. People who leave prison are also at a very high risk of dying due to substance use for up to a year after they are released. The risk of death among prison leavers is far higher than would be
expected in the general population. Research to help stop or lower the number of deaths and reduce substance-related harm among those people who are in or have recently been in prison is an important public health area.We have three main goals:
first, to see how people's substance use changes when they go to prison;
second, to understand how it changes while they're in prison; and
third, to see how it changes in the six months after they're released.The changes in substance-using behaviours may be wide-ranging and could include: using different substances, different combinations of substances, different methods of administration, different amounts, using substances more or less often than
before, or taking more or less risks than previously.To achieve our research goals, we will talk to 60 people on probation from all over Wales. We will ask them about how their drug use has changed, why they have made changes, and what happened as a result. By talking to people from different parts of
Wales, we will get a variety of experiences from people who have been in different types of prison and who live in different areas.REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
25/WA/0164
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion