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PriSUD-prosjektet A large proportion of people in prison have substance use disorders (SUDs) when they enter prison, and after release, the risk of overdose death and relapse into substance use is high. Because of this, it is important to screen for SUDs upon arrival in prison and to offer adequate treatment for substance abuse disorders during imprisonment. ​ PriSUD is a large research project that has been developed at the Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF ) at the University of Oslo (UiO ). Over time, the project has increased in scope and includes both studies related to the Norwegian and the Nordic prison population. PriSUD will be the first research project to investigate the epidemiology and the lived experiences of people with SUD in the Nordic prison population. ​ The project has three parts: a large register study; a qualitative study and a study examining the possibility of using risk calculation tools. The project is funded by Health South-East and the Research Council of Norway. ​ In addition, PriSUD cooperates with PRISONHEALTH, a research project run by Thomas Ugelvik at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at UiO. Read all publications from the PriSUD project here . Cohorts The PriSUD project mainly uses two data sources: two cohorts that will be used to illuminate different aspects of the project. These cohorts have been named The Norwegian Prison Release Study (nPRIS) and The Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction Study (NorMA). All data used in the PriSUD project have been de-identified. In addition, all results will be anonymized , i.e., no persons will be able to be identified based on material published from the study. The data in the study are securely stored within the Services for Sensitive Data ( TSD ). The Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction Study (NorMA ) The NorMA cohort is based on questionnaire data collected among 1,499 inmates in Norwegian prisons. Data were collected in a total of 57 prison units in the period 2013-2014, and included low- and high-security prisons. The Norwegian Prison Release Study (nPRIS ) nPRIS is a cohort based on administrative data from all Norwegian prisons. The cohort has been updated several times, and it currently contains information on all sentences from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2019.

Cooperation We are proud to partner with other research organizations both large and small as well as with user organizations. Research collaboration Research collaboration is crucial for producing high-quality research and we have many good partners. User collaboration User collaboration is very important to us; we need people who have experience and know what it is all about. Other collaborations No one is best alone, and therefore we participate in small and large cooperation groups, both nationally and internationally. Forskningssamarbeid Research collaboration Aarhus University, Denmark Aarhus University is one of our main partners in PriSUD-Nordic. Data corresponding to the nPRIS cohort will be collected in Denmark and analyzed as part of the Nordic objectives in the PriSUD project. ​ Morten Hesse and Christian Tjagvad are both part of the research group in the PriSUD project. Christian has written his doctorate at the Center for Drug and Addiction Research (SERAF) and has worked with similar data before. ​ Abdu Kedir Seid is a postdoc at Aarhus University and also a part of PriSUD-Nordic . Karolinska Institutet, Sweden Karolinska Institutet is the second of our main partners in PriSUD-Nordic. Data corresponding to the nPRIS cohort will be collected in Sweden and analyzed as part of the Nordic objectives in the PriSUD project. ​ Zheng Chang at Karolinska Institutet has researched outcomes after release in Sweden and is part of the research group in the PriSUD project. You can read his his article on substance abuse, mental illness and mortality in The Lancet Psychiatry. ​ Suvi Virtanen at Karolinska Institutet is a postdoc in PriSUD-Nordic. University of Oxford, England The third international partner in PriSUD-Nordic is the prestigious University of Oxford. A risk assessment instrument, OxRec, developed by researchers at Oxford will be tested and validated on data from the nPRIS cohort. ​ Seena Fazel is one of the world's leading researchers in health challenges among inmates and has published a number of key articles in the field. He is also part of the project's steering committee. Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, UiO The PriSUD project has a close collaboration with IKRS - Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo. Our sister project, PRISONHEALTH , is led by Thomas Ugelvik at IKRS, and their expertise is crucial to the development of the PriSUD project. The Prison Project, The Netherlands The Prison Project is a project that is closely related to PriSUD, but with roots in the Netherlands. The project is a collaboration between the University of Leiden, the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR) and the University of Utrecht. The project leader is Dr. Anja Dirkzwager who is part of the research group in the PriSUD project. User collaboration Brukersamarbeid WayBack - We follow you on the road WayBack is a non-profit foundation that works for the return of prisoners to society. The PriSUD project has been fortunate to have WayBack and Johan Lothe on the team. Through their organization the project gains a better understanding of the transition from prison to society. As of 2021, the project has financed a position at WayBack to further strengthen our collaboration. ​ In March 2019, an evaluation of WayBack was created as part of the PriSUD project. The evaluation is a user survey with a focus on the experience of the offer, where the results will be used to evaluate the current offer and to plan future activities. The Prison and Probation Service's Education Center (KRUS) The Prison and Probation Service's college and education center KRUS officially opened on April 1, 1937 (known at the time as "Prison School"). At KRUS, prison officers and other staff are trained, and various continuing and further education courses are offered for prison employees. The leader of the PriSUD project, Anne Bukten, is partly employed by the research department at KRUS, which gives the project a direct connection to prisons in Norway. made clear - research communication with video ​ madeclear works to create precise and correct video communication of complex research. They combine academic and technical expertise in their development of films and have worked with, among others, The Lancet, WHO and the University of Copenhagen. Red Cross - network after imprisonment Network after imprisonment is an offer from the Red Cross that focuses on the transition between a longer prison stay and a life outside the walls. The aim is to prevent recidivism and imprisonment. Other collaborations Andre samarbeid The Worldwide Prison Health Research & Engagement Network ( WEPHREN ) WEPHREN is a worldwide collaboration forum for people who engage in and research health among inmates in prisons. The goal of the group is better access to health services through good research. made clear - research communication with video madeclear works to create precise and accurate video communication of complex research. They combine academic and film technical expertise in their development of films and have worked with, among others, The Lancet, WHO and the University of Copenhagen.

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 research topics: Substance use disorders Mental health disorders Mortality and morbidity Young people and the elderly Women in prison Isolation and prison conditions News from the project Mental health disorders among women in Norwegian prisons OAT patients in prison are a vulnerable group with complex challenges related to mental health PriSUD article received an award for outstanding research! The association of prison security level with mortality after release from prison 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 approach research 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.

Scientific articles Bukten, Anne; Skjærvø, Ingeborg; Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim. “Exploring mental health comorbidities and opioid agonist treatment coverage among people in prison: A national cohort study 2010–2019.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2023) . doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110896 . ​ Andersen, Synøve N., Jordan M. Hyatt, Philipp Lobmaier, Marianne Riksheim Stavseth, and Anne Bukten. "Leaving Their Drugs at the Gate? Exploring Changes in Drug Use From Before to During Incarceration in Norway." International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology (2023) . doi: 10.1177/0306624X231168596 ​ ​ Svendsen, Vegard G., Marianne Riksheim Stavseth, Torbjørn Skardhamar, and Anne Bukten. "Psychiatric morbidity among women in Norwegian prisons, 2010–2019: a register-based study." BMC psychiatry 23, no. 1 (2023) : 390. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04886-7 . ​ Tverborgvik, Torill., Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim & Bukten, Anne. The association between drug use and mortality in a norwegian prison cohort: a prospective cohort study . Health Justice 11, 22 (2023) . https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-023-00223-y ​ Lokdam, Nicoline; Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim & Bukten, Anne. "Drug use and re-imprisonment: A prospective study of the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) cohort". Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports (2022) . doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100127 . ​ 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, doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00107-4 . ​ Hilde Pape, Philipp Lobmaier, Anne Bukten. "An evaluation of eight short versions of the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT). A prison population study". Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, Volume 3 (2022) .doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100043 . ​ Bukten A, Lokdam NT, Skjærvø I, Ugelvik T, Skurtveit S, Gabhelík R, Skardhamar T, Lund IO, Havnes IA, Rognli EB, Chang Z, Fazel S, Friestad C, Hesse M, Lothe J, Ploeg G, Dirkzwager AJE , Clausen T, Tjagvad C, Stavseth MR "PriSUD-Nordic—Diagnosing and Treating Substance Use Disorders in the Prison Population: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study". JMIR Res Protoc, 11(3):e35182 (2022). doi: 10.2196/35182 ​ Pape, Hilde, Rossow, Ingeborg, and Bukten, Anne. "Are Short Audit Screeners Effective in Identifying Unhealthy Drinking of Varying Severity? A Prison Population Study." Drug and Alcohol Dependence 229 (2021) .https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109153 . Toresen Lokdam, Nicoline, Riksheim Stavseth, Marianne, and Bukten, Anne. "Exploring the External Validity of Survey Data with Triangulation: A Case Study from the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (Norma) Study." Research Methods in Medicine & Health Sciences 2, no. 4 (2021) : 140-47.https://doi.org/10.1177/26320843211061298 . ​ Lindstad, Marianne, Skurtveit, Svetlana, and Bukten, Anne. "Too Much or Too Little Medicines? A National Study of Prescribed Psychotropic Drugs Among Inmates in Norwegian Prisons." Norwegian Epidemiology 29, no. 1-2 (2021) .https://doi.org/10.5324/nje.v29i1-2.4049 . ​ Pape, Hilde, Rossow, Ingeborg, and Bukten, Anne. "Alcohol Problems among Prisoners: Subgroup Variations, Concurrent Drug Problems, and Treatment Needs." European Addiction Research 27, no. 3 (2021) : 179-88.https://doi.org/10.1159/000511253 . ​ Bukten, Anne, and Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim. "Suicide in Prison and after Release: A 17-Year National Cohort Study." European Journal of Epidemiology 36, no. 10 (2021) : 1075-83.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-021-00782-0 . ​ Havnes, Ingrid Amalia, Bukten, Anne, Rognli, Eline Borger, and Muller, Ashley Elizabeth. "Use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids and Other Substances Prior to and During Imprisonment - Results from the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (Norma) Study." Drug and Alcohol Dependence 217 (2020) : 108255.https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108255 . ​ Bukten, Anne, Lund, Ingunn Olea, Kinner, Stuart A., Rognli, Eline Borger, Havnes, Ingrid Amalia, Muller, Ashley Elizabeth, and Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim. "Factors Associated with Drug Use in Prison – Results from the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (Norma) Study." Health & Justice 8, no. 1 (2020) : 10.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-020-00112-8 . ​ Borschmann, Rohan, Tibble, Holly, Spittal, Matthew J., Preen, David, Pirkis, Jane, Larney, Sarah, Rosen, David L., et al. "The Mortality after Release from Incarceration Consortium (Maric): Protocol for a Multi-National, Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis." International Journal of Population Data Science 5, no. 1(2020) .https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v5i1.1145 . ​ Muller, Ashley Elizabeth, and Bukten, Anne. "Measuring the Quality of Life of Incarcerated Individuals." International Journal of Prisoner Health 15, no. 1 (2019) : 1-13.https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-02-2018-0005 . ​ Muller, Ashley Elizabeth, Havnes, Ingrid Amalia, Rognli, Eline Borger, and Bukten, Anne. "Inmates with Harmful Substance Use Increase Both Exercise and Nicotine Use during Incarceration." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 12 (2018) : 2663.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122663 . ​ Rognli, Eline Borger, Bramness, Jørgen G, Skurtveit, Svetlana, and Bukten, Anne. "Substance Use and Sociodemographic Background as Risk Factors for Lifetime Psychotic Experiences in a Non-Clinical Sample." Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 74 (2017) : 42-47.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2016.12.007 . ​ Bukten, Anne, Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim, Skurtveit, Svetlana, Tverdal, Aage, Strang, John, and Clausen, Thomas. "High Risk of Overdose Death Following Release from Prison: Variations in Mortality During a 15‐Year Observation Period." Addiction (2017) .https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13803 . ​ Bukten, Anne, Lund, Ingunn Olea, Rognli, Eline Borger, Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim, Lobmaier, Philipp, Skurtveit, Svetlana, Clausen, Thomas, and Kunøe, Nikolaj. "The Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction Study–Design and Implementation of a National Survey and Prospective Cohort Study." Substance abuse: research and treatment 9, no. Supplement 2 (2015) : 59.https://doi.org/10.4137/SaRt.S23546 . Publications Here you can find all our scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as reports . Vitenskapeelige artikler Reports Bukten, A; Lokdam, NT; Clausen, T; Skærvø I. Use, possession and driving under the influence of drugs among inmates in Norwegian prisons 2000-2019 [Norwegian] SERAF report, 3/2021 (pdf) ​ Lindstad, M; Bukten, A & Clausen, T. Prisoners and patients in drug treatment with connections to Oslo [Norwegian] SERAF report 4/2019 (pdf) ​ Bukten, A; Stavseth, MR; Skurtveit, S, Lund, IO; Clausen, T. Intoxication and Health situation among inmates in the penal care [Norwegian] SERAF report, 2/2016 (pdf) Rapporter

Mental Health Prisoners in prison have a high incidence of mental illness. At the same time, research shows that imprisonment in itself can aggravate existing mental disorders and create new ones. A prison has conditions that make imprisonment particularly difficult for this group. Knowledge of which mental disorders inmates have, and of their experiences during and after imprisonment is important in order to be able to provide them with adequate and increased treatment. In the PriSUD project, our goal is to investigate the prevalence of mental disorders among inmates in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish prisons. This research spans a period of 10 years (2010-2020) and thus will also measure changes over time. Publications: Svendsen, Vegard G., Marianne Riksheim Stavseth, Torbjørn Skardhamar, and Anne Bukten. "Psychiatric morbidity among women in Norwegian prisons, 2010–2019: a register-based study." BMC psychiatry 23, no. 1 (2023): 390. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04886-7. ​ Lindstad, Marianne, Skurtveit, Svetlana, and Bukten, Anne. "Too Much Or Too Little Medication? A National Study of Prescribed Psychopharmaceuticals Among Inmates in Norwegian Prisons." Norwegian Epidemiology 29, no. 1-2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.5324/nje.v29i1-2.4049 . ​ Bukten, Anne, and Stavseth, Marianne Riksheim. "Suicide in Prison and After Release: A 17-Year National Cohort Study." European Journal of Epidemiology 36, no. 10 (2021): 1075-83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-021-00782-0 . ​ Rognli, Eline Borger, Bramness, Jørgen G, Skurtveit, Svetlana, and Bukten, Anne. "Substance Use and Sociodemographic Background as Risk Factors for Lifetime Psychotic Experiences in a Non-Clinical Sample." Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 74 (2017): 42-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2016.12.007 . ​​ Bukten , A; Stavseth, MR; Skurtveit, S, Lund, IO; Clausen, T. Intoxication and Health situation among inmates in the penal care. SERAF report, 2/2016 (pdf).

Anne Bukten My name is Anne Bukten and I am the project manager for The PriSUD project. Working with such an exciting project, together with so many talented people, is a great privilege. ​ ​ I became interested in punishment, drugs and prison through being a psychology student at NTNU. I took a specialization in social psychology and became interested in how penal care - within a punitive context - worked with behavior change and crime reduction. I wrote a master's thesis on the cognitive change program New Start, and collected data from the inmates who had participated in the program. As a student, I also got a side job in Trondheim prison, which gave me unique knowledge about a prison seen "from the inside". ​ ​ In 2012, we started the projects NorMA and nPRIS which are both unique in both national and international contexts, and which today form the basis for The PriSUD project. We have great ambitions for the PriSUD project. Our main goal is that the results from our project will form new knowledge that can contribute to better mental and physical health, and better quality of life among inmates with substance abuse problems in prison. ​ ​ This is an important goal, both in a Norwegian context where we have international proportions of people who have serious drug use before imprisonment, but also in an international context where we see that the incarcerated population is on the rise, and where this increase is largely linked to a policy that has been characterized by a tougher crackdown on drug-related crime. ​ ​ Through this website we will publish the results of what we are working on. Feel free to follow us on our journey! Email: anne.bukten@medisin.uio.no

Students The PriSUD project has associated students at several levels and from different fields of study. Our students are an important resource, and they contribute with new, fresh perspectives. On this page you will find an overview of all our ongoing student projects. If you want to read completed student assignments from the project, you can also find them here (in Norwegian). Profesjonsstudiet i psykologi: Katya Stavelie Khouri Selvkontroll blant innsatte i fengsel. Master i rus- og psykisk helsearbeid: Amalie Jordan Eldre i fengsel Master i anvendt helsepsykologi og forebygging: Rebecca Lynn Isaksen Hva skiller innsatte på lukket og åpen avdeling? Medisinstudent: Martine Garshol Kreft blant personer med soningserfaring Medisinstudent: Lisa Elvebakk Ferrando Selvskading blant personer med mentale lidelser

The PriSUD project is a large research project that aims to improve the health of inmates with substance abuse disorders. But how do you do that, and why is it so important? In order to be able to explain a complicated project in a simple way, we asked the Danish research dissemination company madeclear to create a so-called 'explainer'; a movie that shows what The PriSUD project is about. Watch the video here: Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied

NorMA: The Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction Study The three main aims of the NorMA study are to (1) describe substance use (current and past) and mental health among inmates in Norwegian prisons, (2) establish a cohort where survey data are linked with register data based on inmates’ consent and personal identification numbers, and (3) describe and explore data patterns, inmate factors, or subgroups associated with pre- and post-release outcomes. ​ A total of 1,499 prison inmates responded to the survey questionnaire, including 1,396 men and 96 women. Data were collected in 57 prison units in Norway during 2013 and 2014, including high- and low-security units and transitional houses. There are altogether three prisons for women in Norway, which were all covered during data collection. A full description of the NorMA study has been published and can be read here . ​ ​

The research group Anne Bukten Prosjektleder. PhD, Forsker Marianne R. Stavseth PhD, Post.doc. Torill Tverborgvik PhD, Post.doc. Vegard Svendsen Stipendiat Suvi Virtanen PhD, Post.doc. Morten Hesse PhD, Associate professor Thomas Ugelvik Professor Thomas Clausen Lege, Professor Svetlana Skurtveit Professor Ingrid A. Havnes Lege, PhD Nicoline Lokdam Stipendiat Ingeborg Skjærvø PhD, Post. doc. Johan Lothe Leder, WayBack Oslo Torbjørn Skardhamar Professor Zheng Chang PhD, Assistant professor Abdu K. Seid PhD, Assistant Professor Rose E. Boyle Stipendiat Christine Friestad Psykolog, Forsker Eline Borger Rognli PhD, Forsker Ingunn Olea Lund PhD, Seniorforsker

Marianne Riksheim Stavseth Marianne Riksheim Stavseth is employed as a postdoctoral fellow on the PriSUD project and is responsible for the data processing in the project. ​ Marianne has her background from NTNU, where she has a bachelor's degree in medical statistics and a master's degree in statistics. In her master's thesis, she did a simulation of how breast cancer tumors grow, and how changes in screening frequency can affect when breast cancer tumors are detected. The thesis can be read here . ​ Originally, Marianne wanted to be a teacher, and the joy of teaching and communicating complex mathematics and statistics is close to her heart. She has published two articles on the application of statistical methods in medicine, one on the treatment of 'missing data' and one on the strategy for selecting covariates in a regression analysis . Marianne is also one of the professional employees who writes for the column 'Tall og medisin ' in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. ​ Marianne completed her doctorate in 2019 based on data from the annual status survey among patients in Drug-Assisted Rehabilitation (OMT). Email: m.r.stavseth@medisin.uio.no

Nicoline Toresen 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: n.t.lokdam@medisin.uio.no