Vegard's PhD focuses on female inmates and has been named 'WOMPRIS'. In his work, he will focus on the following questions: Who are the women serving time in Norwegian prisons, and what can we learn about their lives before, during and after imprisonment? 

Previous research suggests that women in prison represent a particularly marginalized group, with an increased prevalence of psychological, social and drug-related problems. As women typically represent a small minority of prisoners, their particular needs and challenges tend to receive less focus – while the prison institutions are generally structured around the male majority. Although there is ample evidence to suggest important differences between men and women serving time in prison, our knowledge about gender specific factors in this population remain limited.  WOMPRIS is a collaboration between the PRISONHEALTH project and PriSUD based on data from the nPRIS cohort.