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Amalie Jordan Eldre i fengsel. Amalie Jordan tar en master i rus- og psykisk helsearbeid ved det Helsevitenskapelige Fakultet, Stavanger Universitet. Bakgrunn for oppgaven: Gjennomsnittsalder har økt betydelig i norske fengsler de siste årene. I 2002 var 7 prosent av de innsatte over 50 år, mens andelen i 2019 var 29 prosent, og i 2021 var gjennomsnittsalderen på innsatte i Norge den høyeste i Norden med et gjennomsnitt på 38 år. Kriminalomsorgen mener det er grunn til å tro at denne utviklingen vil fortsette, og kunnskap om eldre innsatte er derfor viktig. Metode: Ved hjelp av fengselsdata (nPRIS) koblet med data fra Dødsårsaksregisteret (DÅR) og Norsk pasientregister (NPR) vil denne studien se på personer som var fylte 60 år ved første fengsling i perioden 01.01.2010 til 31.12.2019. Ved å følge personene i de tre registrene fram til oppfølgingsslutt (31.12.2019) eller dødsdato, vil vi kunne si noe om hva denne gruppen blir dømt for og i hvilken grad de har flere soninger, deres kontakt med spesialisthelsetjenesten og eventuelle diagnoser, samt gruppens mortalitet og dødsårsaker. Studien er en del av PriSUD prosjektet og vil bruke data fra The Norwegian Prison Release Study (nPRIS) sammen med DÅR og NPR. Korhorten er basert på administrative data fra alle norske fengsel og inneholder informasjon om alle soninger fra og med 01.01.2000 til og med 31.12.2019. Denne oppgaven vil ha særlig fokus på rusdiagnoser og på den måten sette søkelys på rus blant de eldre i fengsel.

Student assignments There are always students of all levels involved in PriSUD. Below is a list with links to their completed assignments (in Norwegian). Master's theses Name: Tina Skaug Subject: Criminology and Sociology of Law Title: Behandling innenfor straffekontekst – men utenfor fengsel: En rettssosiologisk analyse av idealer og realiteter i forbindelse med bruken av straffegjennomføringsloven §12 ​ Name: Thea Regine Bakken Subject: Criminology and Sociology of Law Title: Bak lås og slå: En kvantitativ analyse av sammenhengen mellom sikkerhetsnivå og psykisk helse blant fengselsinnsatte i den norske kriminalomsorgen [Begrenset tilgang] Name: Marianne Lindstad Subject: Social Work Title: FOR MYE MEDISINER? Bruk av forskrevne vanedannende legemidler blant innsatte i norske fengsler Name: Eva Linn Lillheil Subject: Social Work Title: Syntetiske cannabinoider i norske fengsler. Forekomst og faktorer som kan ha sammenheng med bruk Project assignments medical students Name: Andrea Nøstdahl and Maria Elisabeth Schätzer Coll Title: LAR-pasienter i norske fengsler - En beskrivelse av innsatte i LAR-behandling i fengsler i Norge ​ Name: Jonas Holm Aasen Title: Angst og depresjon blant fengselsinnsatte Name: Natalie Kjølner Title: Behandlingserfaring blant innsatte med rushistorikk i norske fengsler

Vegard Svendsen Vegard is a doctoral candidate studying women in prison . Through his doctoral project WOMPRIS , he will focus on topics such as mental disorders, mortality, and prospects for rehabilitation among women who have been incarcerated in Norway. His first article, "Psychiatric morbidity among women in Norwegian prisons, 2010–2019: a register-based study ," received significant attention in the media. ​ Vegard has a background as a nurse at Akershus University Hospital. In 2021, he completed his master's degree in health sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. He also previously holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from James Cook University in Australia. His main interests are mental health, intoxication and addiction - and hopes to bring an interdisciplinary perspective into his research work. ​ 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. Email: vegard.svendsen@medisin.uio.no

Alcohol, drugs and treatment About half of all inmates have a substance abuse disorder upon entry to prison. After release, the risk of overdose death and relapse into substance abuse is very high. Because of this, it is important to detect substance abuse disorders upon arrival at the prison and offer adequate treatment for substance abuse disorders during imprisonment. This will lead to better health for people with substance abuse disorders in prison. The PriSUD project aims to investigate the prevalence of substance abuse disorders among inmates in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish prisons. We also examine the availability of adequate drug treatment in prison, as well as the outcome of such treatment after release in a Nordic context. Together with a number of partners, we work with several sub-projects focusing on screening, alcohol and drug use before and during imprisonment as well as various outcomes after imprisonment. ​ Publications on the topic 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 ​ 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). 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 a nd Addiction (NorMA) cohort". Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports (2022). doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100127 . ​ 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 . ​ 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 .​ ​ 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 . 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 . ​ ​ ​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, A; Lokdam, NT; Clausen, T; Skærvø I. Use, possession and driving under the influence of drugs among inmates in Norwegian prisons 2000-2019. SERAF report, 3/2021(pdf) ​ ​​ Bukten, A; Stavseth, MR; Skurtveit, S, Lund, IO; Clausen, T. Drug and health situation among inmates in correctional facilities. SERAF report, 2/2016 (pdf)

NorMA: Psychosis Substance abuse and psychosis are linked in many ways. People with psychotic disorders tend to use more drugs, and the use of certain drugs is associated with acute and long-term increased risk of psychosis. The NorMA questionnaire contains questions about different types of psychotic experiences as well as about treatment for such ailments. These questions can be combined with detailed information about substance abuse and other background variables. We have published an article on the relationship between drug use, socio-demographic background and the number of different types of psychotic experiences ( Rognli, Bramness, Skurtveit and Bukten 2017 ) and are now working on an article on the age of onset of different types of drugs and risk of hospitalization for psychosis.

Rose Elizabeth Boyle ​Rose Boyle is a doctoral candidate as part of the project PriSUD. Her project will investigate the application and efficacy of different SUD treatment services in the corrections system. She is interesting in finding out how the structure and experience of serving a prison sentence can provide an effective framework for positive development amongst vulnerable individuals with SUD problems, and what effect this has on SUD treatment services offered in prison. Her qualitative work will investigate this from an actor perspective: What do both current and former incarcerated individuals and prison staff think about the existing SUD treatment services: do they promote better health, and how should they be adapted or developed further to meet the needs of incarcerated individuals? Rose has a masters’ degree in intercultural studies from NLA Høgskolen, where her project was based on a case study of one of Norway’s first recovery college programs in the mental health and SUD field, where she also worked as a course developer. This gave her a strong interest in how service perspectives and experience-based competence are implemented in the health, social and legal systems. Her research interests include mental health and substance use, crime prevention and corrections, prison healthcare, integration of vulnerable groups, health service development, stigma and marginalization. Email: r.e.boyle@jus.uio.no

Rebecca Lynn Isaksen ​ Hva skiller innsatte på lukket og åpen avdeling? Rebecca Lynn Isaksen er en masterstudent i anvendt helsepsykologi og forebygging ved Oslo Nye Høyskole. Rebecca skriver sin masteroppgave med bruk av nPRIS datasettet og er interessert i å se nærmere på hva som skiller innsatte på lukket og åpen avdeling. ​ Rebecca utviklet sin lidenskap for mental helse blant fengselsbefolkningen da hun tok sin bachelor i sosial psykologi i USA. Hun jobbet tett med forskjellige deler av fengselsbefolkningen. Blant annet på rettsmedisinsk avdeling på Utah University Hospital og var med på et sosial innovativt prosjekt for The Other Side Academy (TOSA), som er et hjem for tidligere rusmisbrukere og innsatte. ​ Hun interesserer seg faglig for kriminalitetsforebygging og kriminalomsorg, fengselshelse og forebygging av psykisk uhelse.

The Norwegian Prison Release Study - nPRIS ​ The nPRIS cohort is based on data from the Norwegian Prison registry and includes all persons who have been imprisoned in Norway. The cohort has been updated several times (in 2015, 2018 and 2020), and has been linked to various national registers. The last update includes all prisoners who have been imprisoned in Norway in the period 2000-2019 and includes about 160,000 people and just under 300,000 releases. This makes nPRIS one of the largest prison cohorts in the world and it is now linked to several national registers: the Norwegian Patient Register, the Cause of Death Register, the Criminal Case Register and socio-economic data from Statistics Norway. The nPRIS cohort thus provides unique opportunities to study how people are doing in prison, both before, during and after imprisonment. The nPRIS cohort is a central part of the PriSUD project , as similar cohort data is collected by our partners in Denmark and Sweden. The use of register data is often described as a «Nordic opportunity» and the Nordic countries are in an ideal position to conduct world-class quality research on drug-related public health challenges. Previous updates of the nPRIS cohort have formed the basis for a number of studies and collaborations, among others an article about overdose deaths after release from prison, which was published in 2017. The article received a lot of attention, including profiles on Norwegian television shows Dagsrevyen and nrk.no, and the results from the article form the knowledge base for the national measures to prevent overdoses after release from prison. The Mortality After Release from Incarceration Consortium (MARIC ) study is a very ambitious and unique study that includes longitudinal data from 28 large studies in 13 countries, of which data from the nPRIS cohort are included. The goal of the study is to investigate deaths after release from prison. We have previously been involved in publishing a protocol article based on this collaboration and a new article with the first results is on the way. ​ In 2021, the second update of the nPRIS cohort formed the basis for a publication focusing on suicide among inmates in prison and after release. This article also received a lot of publicity when it was published, including on NRK.no [Norwegian only] . ​ In an article published in 2022, also on data from the second nPRIS cohort update, we found that release from a high level of security was associated with a higher risk of mortality. This study shows that people who were released from high-security prisons had a high mortality rate, both related to internal and external causes of death. ​ ​

PriSUD in the media Here you will find an overview of interviews conducted with people in the PriSUD project, popular science summaries and other news items regarding the PriSUD project (in Norwegian). 2023 Uverdige forhold i kvinnefengslene: En varslet Krise , by Vegard Svendsen, Marianne Riksheim Stavseth and Anne Bukten (dagsavisen.no, 23.06.23) Kvinner i fengsel får det stadig verre , by Vegard Svendsen and Katja Nielsen (kjonnsforskning.no, 20.06.23) Reportasje om ansatte ved Bredtveit fengsel , results from the PriSUD project (aftenposten.no, 20.06.23) Skyhøy forekomst av psykiske diagnoser blant kvinnelige innsatte , with Vegard Svendsen, Katja Nielsen and Johan Lothe (14.06.23, NRK.no) Radioinnslag og intervju med KDI om psykiske lidelser blant kvinner i fengsel på Nyhetsmorgen , with Vegard Svendsen and Katja Nielsen (13.06.23, NRK.no) Skal se på psykiske lidelser blant kvinner i fengsel , with Vegard Svendsen og Katja Nielsen (12.04.23, ROP.no) Forebygging av dødsfall etter løslatelse fra fengsel , with Torill Tverborgvik (26.05.23, Erfaringskompetanse.no) ​ 2022 Høy risiko for å dø etter løslatelse fra fengsel with Anne Bukten (NTB/Institute for Clinical Medicine) Jo sikrere fengsel, jo større fare for å dø etter løslatelse with Anne Bukten (28.07.22, Forskning.no) High mortality rates after release from prison with Anne Bukten (21.09.22, partner.sciencenorway.no) Innsatte plukker fleinsopp i luftegården på fengselet with Anne Bukten (15.06.22, NRK.no) 2021 Selvmord blant innsatte i fengsel with Anne Bukten and Johan Lothe (NRK, Nyhetsmorgen, trykk på innslag 21) Over 800 selvmord: – Det er stygge og skremmende tall with Anne Bukten (Frifagbevegelse.no) Høy forekomst av selvmord i norske fengsel with Anne Bukten (11.09.22, NRK.no) Har vi glemt fengselsinnsatte i håndteringen av koronapandemien? by Nicoline Lokdam and Hilgunn Olsen (Forskersonen.no) Annenhver innsatt i norske fengsler hadde alkoholproblemer før soning with Hilde Pape (04.01.21, Forskning.no) ​ ​ 2020 Mange innsatte i norske fengsler har alkoholproblemer with Hilde Pape (28.12.22, FHI.no) Anabole steroider - en "lillebror" i rusfeltet with Ingrid Amalia Havnes (Rusfeltet.no) Rus- og helseutfordringer i norske fengsel with Anne Bukten (03.11.20, rop.no) ​ ​ 2017 Dør av overdose like etter løslatelse with Anne Bukten and Johan Lothe (20.03.17, NRK.no) ​ ​ 2016 Stort behov for rusbehandling i norske fengsel with Anne Bukten (10.09.16, Forskning.no) ​

Isolation Isolation is one of the most intrusive tools a state can employ. Prolonged isolation is considered a form of torture, and even short-term isolation can harm both physical and mental health, increasing the risk of premature death. The high use of isolation in Norwegian prisons has been criticized by national and international human rights organizations for several decades. ​ Through prison registry data, we have information on isolation during incarceration, which has been routinely recorded by the correctional system since 2014. The isolation data covers more than 10,000 individuals and over 40,000 isolation incidents. This includes both isolation imposed by the court or the prison and isolation chosen by the inmate. Data from the prison registry provide us with information about aspects of the incarceration, including sentences, duration of confinement, security levels, and isolation, including the reasons for isolation and its duration. ​ In the PriSUD project, we aim to explore the use of isolation in Norwegian prisons and use our registry linkages to investigate risk factors for being isolated during incarceration and the resulting consequences. The project will contribute valuable new knowledge about the use of isolation, who is subjected to it, and the long-term health consequences.

Bukten A, Lokdam NT, Skjærvø I, Ugelvik T, Skurtveit S, Gabrhelík 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

Quality of life, substance use and mental health among the incarcerated On behalf of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, PriSUD is carrying out a research project that will provide updated knowledge about incarcerated individual’s quality of life and health status. The study aims to improve the foundation of the department's assessment of whether the service offerings align with the needs of those in prison and in the community. ​ ​ What we hope to achieve: The overall aim of the research project is to describe quality of life and to provide knowledge about the prevalence of substance use and mental health problems among incarcerated individuals. The results of the research project will provide more knowledge about these individuals' overall needs and whether current service provision meets their real needs. It is expected that the results of the research project will lead to several clinical and practical implications. ​ How: The project is divided into three work packages: 1. Substance use and mental health. We will map the occurrence of substance abuse and other mental disorders before and after incarceration, as well as looking at the development over time. We will also examine mortality and causes of death. 2. Quality of life We will examine incarcerated individual's quality of life, including housing, finances, education level, and employment before, during, and after incarceration. We use national registries for this part of the research. We will have a particular focus on what may be relevant for the likelihood of recidivism. 3. Service needs and service provision. Through an anonymous questionnaire, we will map the needs for and availability of various services before and after incarceration. The survey has been developed in close collaboration with the user organization WayBack, and anyone with experience serving a criminal sentence is welcome to participate. In work packages 1 and 2, we use national registry data. These are data that cover all sentences (prison and community) in Norway from 2010 to 2022, which are then linked with the Norwegian Patient Registry, social welfare data from Statistics Norway, and the Cause of Death Registry. These are very large and sensitive datasets, all of which are stored and processed in the University of Oslo secure storage services for sensitive data (TSD). The linkages are made in such a way that anonymity is maintained. The project's final work package is of particular interest to the Correctional Services and the Ministry. In close collaboration with WayBack, we have created a questionnaire in which we aim to ascertain the extent to which treatment, support, and follow-up services during their sentence meet the convicted individuals' actual needs. We are not asking which services are available, but rather the extent to which the individuals themselves feel that their needs have been met, both during and after their sentence. We are also interested in whether the respondents know about provided services and other support and whether they choose to use these. ​ Why: There is a significant accumulation of quality of life problems among inmates. We know that approximately half of all inmates have a substance use disorder when they enter prison, and a large proportion also have mental and physical illnesses. After release from prison, former inmates have a particular risk of overall mortality, especially overdose mortality. Inmates with previous substance use problems are more likely to relapse into substance use and criminality after release, and many face difficulties in reintegrating into work or education. A national survey of substance use, health, and overall well being may be an important part of identifying at-risk groups among incarcerated individuals in prisons and probation services, thereby helping to tailor interventions correctly. ​ ​ On the other hand, there is little knowledge about those who are serving sentences outside of prison in the community. The proportion of this type of sentence has increased considerably over the past 10 years as more and more types of offenses have been made eligible. In order to be considered for this type of sentence, the convicted person must meet certain criteria. It is therefore expected that those who serve sentences in society are generally healthier and have fewer disadvantages than the population serving time in prison, but this has not been adequately researched. This project will provide knowledge about different groups serving sentences, which will shed light on the changing challenges over the past 13 years. The study will also contribute to a better foundation of knowledge for assessing whether the services offered are relevant and adequate for the target population.