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Twice a year, Oslo University Hospital awards a prize to just six outstanding research articles with key authors from the hospital. In December, the PriSUD project had the pleasure of receiving this award for the article "The association of prison security level with mortality after release from prison: a retrospective national cohort study (2000–16)"where we find high mortality after release among those who have been incarcerated in a high security prison. The article was written by Anne Bukten, Ingeborg Skjærvø and Marianne R. Stavseth. The prize was NOK 50 000, intended to fund further research.

Bukten, Anne; Skjærvø, Ingeborg; Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim. The association of prison security level with mortality after release from prison: a retrospective national cohort study (2000–16). The Lancet Public Health, Volume 7, Issue 7, 2022, Pages e583-e592, ISSN 2468-2667, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00107-4. Background Incarceration might contribute to increased mortality in an already marginalised population. A better understanding of the prison-related factors that are associated with mortality is important for preventing the negative health consequences of incarceration. We aimed to investigate all-cause and cause-specific mortality following release from high-security and low-security prisons. Methods In this retrospective national cohort study, we used data from the Norwegian Prison Release study (nPRIS), which includes complete national register data for 96 859 individuals from the Norwegian Prison Register linked to the Norwegian Cause of Death Register from Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 31, 2016. The study cohort included all people in Norway released from a high-security or low-security prison unit. Cause of death was categorised into internal causes (infectious, cancerous, endocrine, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, nervous system diseases, and mental health disorders) and external causes (accidents, suicides, and homicides) according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases. We calculated crude mortality rates (CMR) and estimated Cox proportional-hazards models. Findings There were 151 790 releases in the study period (68·4% from low-security and 31·6% from high-security prisons) from 91 963 individuals. The overall CMR was 854·4 [95% CI 834·7–874·2] per 100 000 person-years (436·2 [422·1–450·3] per 100 000 person-years for internal causes and 358·3 [345·5–371·1] per 100 000 person-years for external causes). The overall post-release mortality rate was higher in those released from high-security prisons (1142·5 [95% CI 1102·6–1182·5] per 100 000 person-years) than in those released from low-security prisons (714·6 [692·6–736·6] per 100 000 person-years). Our results suggest an association between release from high-security prisons and elevated mortality due to both external causes (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1·75 [95% CI 1·60–1·91]) and internal causes (1·45 [1·33–1·59]), compared to release from low-security prisons. Interpretation Imprisonment and the post-release period can be an important point for public health interventions. Particular attention to health is warranted for individuals incarcerated in and released from high-security prisons. The potential impact of both individual-level characteristics of people incarcerated in high-security facilities, and of the prison environment itself, on mortality outcomes, should be investigated further.

The PriSUD project is a large research project that aims to improve health among inmates with substance use disorders. But how do you do that, and why is it so important? In order to explain this complex project in a simple way, we got the Danish research dissemination company madeclear to create a so-called 'explainer'; a film that shows what the PriSUD project is all about. Watch it here! made by madeclear.dk

Nicoline Lokdam Nicoline Lokdam is a doctoral student with the PriSUD project. She works with data from the NorMA stud y linking it with data from the Norwegian registries. Read more about her PhD here . ​ Nicoline has a bachelor's and master's degree in Public Health Science from University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Her degree is a combination of various health sciences, both quantitative and qualitative. Her master's thesis from 2017 was on health in prisons, with a particular focus on solitary confinement in Danish prisons. She has previously worked with health in prisons at Dignity (Danish Institute Against Torture). ​ Inequities in health and health among socially marginalized groups are core themes of interest in Nicoline's work. From this framework, incarceration is an interesting field as those in the prison population are in a socially marginalized group and often suffer from multiple health issues. Email: nicoline.lokdam@medisin.uio.no

PriSUD has been established at the Norwegian Center for Addiction Research (SERAF) at the University of Oslo. The main goal of PriSUD is to improve mental and physical health, as well as quality of life for people with substance abuse problems in prison. PriSUD researches: Alcohol, drugs and treatment Mental Health Illness and mortality Young people and the elderly Women in prison Health and lifestyle News from the project PriSUD article received an award for outstanding research! The association of prison security level with mortality after release from prison A movie about the project Post.doc scholarship to evaluate drug treatment in Sweden What is PriSUD? Prison inmates are a marginalized group with an accumulation of social vulnerability related to mental health and substance abuse. As a result, overdose death, suicide and relapse to drug use are very high. At PriSUD, we map, evaluate and examine outcomes related to the treatment of drug and mental disorders in prison. Over time, the project has increased in scope to include studies related to both the Norwegian and the Nordic prison population. For more detailed information about the project, read here . ​ PriSUD began in 2019 and is led by Anne Bukten . In addition, the project has several full-time and part-time team members: postdoctoral fellow Marianne Riksheim Stavseth , postdoctoral fellow Ingeborg Skjærvø , postdoctoral fellow Torill Tverborgvik , PhD candidate Nicoline Lokdam , PhD candidate Rose Elizabeth Boyle , PhD candidate Vegard Svendsen , as well as Katja Nilsen who represents WayBack . The project also has an interdisciplinary approachresearch group . ​ PriSUD has been developed and is led by the Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF ) at the University of Oslo (UiO). PriSUD is financed by South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (HSØ ), the Research Council of Norway ( NFR ) and The Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

Levekår, rus og psykisk helse blant løslatte Takk for din interesse for denne spørreskjemaundersøkelsen! ​ I samarbeid med WayBack har vi utarbeidet undersøkelsen for å kartlegge løslattes egen vurdering av behov for, og tilbud om oppfølging, behandling og aktivitet under og etter straffegjennomføring. ​ Undersøkelsen er en del av prosjektet «Levekår, rus og psykisk helse blant domfelte» som PriSUD-gruppen gjennomfører på oppdrag fra Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet. Les mer om prosjektet her . Resultatene fra prosjektet vil presenteres for departementet i en rapport som skal lanseres sommeren 2024. ​ Alle som har soningserfaring, fra fengsel, friomsorg, hjemmesoning eller annet, er velkomne til å svare. Det tar ca.15 minutter å svare på spørreskjemaet. Det er viktig at du kun svarer en gang. Deltagelsen er helt anonym og selvfølgelig frivillig. Del gjerne med ditt nettverk – jo flere svar vi får inn, jo bedre kan vi beskrive situasjonen for straffedømte i Norge. Du finner spørreskjemaet her . ​ Tusen takk for ditt bidrag - din stemme er viktig! Ansvarlig for spørreskjemaundersøkelsen er forsker Torill Tverborgvik . Ta gjerne kontakt hvis det er noe du lurer på!