Understanding the impact of Scotland's drug death crisis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the perceptions of drug related deaths and methods of harm reduction amongst individuals with lived experience of drug use
IRAS ID
337213
Contact name
Lynda Russell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Glasgow
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 28 days
Research summary
Scotland has been experiencing a disproportionately high level of drug related deaths (DRDs) and statistics place rates as the highest in both the United Kingdom and Europe. There has been no known research that has explored the impact of DRDs or how harm reduction methods are being received by those at risk of a DRD in Scotland.
The aim of the research is to explore DRDs and methods of harm reduction from the perspective of individuals currently receiving treatment for illicit drug use, and who are therefore more likely to be vulnerable to, or impacted by, DRD in Scotland.
Participants will be individuals accessing treatment within statuary drug and alcohol services within NHS Ayrshire and Arran for a drug related difficulty. Inclusion criteria will be that participants are aged 18 years old and over and English speaking.
Services will be informed of the research project via the staff information sheet. They will enquire if any potential participants are interested in the project and obtain consent for their contact details to be passed to the research team. Posters will be supplied to waiting rooms and recovery hubs across the health and social care partnership, inviting participants to contact the research team if they wish to participate in the project.
Participants will be emailed the information sheet, consent form and privacy notice. They will then complete an information sharing session over the telephone in which they will be informed of the background and aim of the project and verbal consent sought. Upon arrival for interview they will be provided with the information sheet and written informed consent obtained.
The study will employ a qualitative design using interpretative phenomenological analysis.REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/SW/0068
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jun 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion