Treatment utilization among people with drug use disorders in prison: a national longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Drug use disorders are highly prevalent among people in prison. Nevertheless, treatment coverage for individuals with drug use disorders in prison remains understudied and unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate treatment coverage among a sample of people with harmful and likely drug dependence before entering prison and to investigate the factors associated with treatment utilization.

[Not Available].

Background: In the period 2002-2020, a total of 431 people were sentenced to coercive mental health care. Many of these had served time in prison, either previously or in connection with the criminal acts that led to the current sentences. This study examines the background, criminal history and mental health status of individuals before they committed the offences that led to their imprisonment.

Estimated effects of opioid agonist treatment in prison on all-cause mortality and overdose mortality in people released from prison in Norway: a prospective analysis of data from the Norwegian Prison Release Study (nPRIS).

Background: Overdose is the leading cause of death for people released from prison, and opioid agonist treatment is associated with reductions in mortality after imprisonment. However, few studies have explored the interplay of the potential modifiable risk factors and protective factors for mortality after release from prison. We aimed to describe all-cause mortality and overdose mortality among individuals released from Norwegian prisons during 2000-22 and to identify pre-existing risk factors associated with both types of mortality among these individuals for 6 months.

The prevalence of substance use disorders among people in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prisons: A multi-national cohort study, 2010-19.

Aims: We estimated the prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) in the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prison populations and compared the prevalence of SUDs in the national prison populations with country-specific general population prevalence rates.

Design: A multi-national cohort study using data from the National Prison Registries linked to the National Patient Registries in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Setting And Participants: We used data from the PriSUD-Nordic study, including national prison populations aged 19 years and older in Norway (2010-19), Denmark (2010-18) and Sweden (2010-13).

Mortality in women with a history of incarceration in Norway: a 20-year national cohort study.

Background: Women carry a substantial burden of psychiatric, somatic and lifestyle-related morbidity in the prison context. By describing causes of death and estimating the risk and burden of mortality compared with the general population, this study investigates how mortality operates in this highly marginalized and under-researched population.

Methods: In this registry-based study of all women incarcerated in Norwegian prisons from 2000 to 2019 (N = 11 313), we calculated crude mortality rates, years of lost life and, by using mortality in age-matched women from the general population as a reference, age-standardized mortality ratios and years of lost life rates.

The prevalence and comorbidity of mental health and substance use disorders in Scandinavian prisons 2010-2019: a multi-national register study.

Background: Mental health disorders are common among people in prison, but their prevalence in the Scandinavian prison population remain unclear. In this multinational register study, we examined the prevalence of mental health disorders and the comorbidity of substance use disorders (SUDs) with other mental health disorders in this population. Further, we investigated how the prevalence of mental disorders at prison entry had changed in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden over the study period.

All-cause and cause-specific mortality among individuals imprisoned for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in Norway (2000-2016): a retrospective cohort study.

Aims: To describe all-cause and cause-specific mortality and to investigate factors associated with mortality among individuals imprisoned for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and psychoactive drugs in the Norwegian prison population.

Design: Retrospective cohort study. The Norwegian prison registry was linked to the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry (2000-2016).

Leaving Their Drugs at the Gate? Exploring Changes in Drug Use From Before to During Incarceration in Norway.

As the number of incarcerated persons who use drugs increases in many countries, it is important to understand the nature of drug use in prison by exploring how substance use patterns change from before to during incarceration. In this study, we rely on cross-sectional, self-report data from The Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) study to identify the nature of changes in drug use among incarcerated respondents who reported having used either narcotics, non-prescribed medications, or both, during the 6 months before their incarceration ( = 824). Results show that about 60% ( = 490) stop using drugs.

Psychiatric morbidity among women in Norwegian prisons, 2010-2019: a register-based study.

Purpose: Research suggests that women in prison have more mental health problems than men and are prone to suffer from more severe psychiatric disorders. This study utilizes national registry data to describe demographic and psychiatric gender differences in Norwegian prisons, and to investigate comorbid psychiatric disorders and time trends in psychiatric morbidity among women.

Methods: Longitudinal data from the Norwegian Prison Release Study linked with the Norwegian Patient Registry and data from Statistics Norway provided information on health care utilization, socioeconomic status, and history of psychiatric disorders among all individuals (n = 5,429; n = 45,432) who were incarcerated in a Norwegian prison between 2010 and 2019.

The association between drug use and mortality in a norwegian prison cohort: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Elevated mortality rates are found among people who have experienced incarceration, even long after release from prison. The mechanisms related to this excess mortality are complex products of both individual and situational factors. The aim of this study was to describe all-cause and cause-specific mortality among people with a history of imprisonment, and to examine both individual and situational factors associated with mortality.

An evaluation of eight short versions of the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT). A prison population study.

Background: The eleven-item Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT) is a recommended screening tool, but its length may impede its use in prison intake assessments. Hence, we examined the performance of eight brief DUDIT screeners against the full DUDIT, employing a sample of male inmates.

Methods: Our study included male participants in the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) study who reported pre-prison drug use and who had been incarcerated three months or less ( = 251).

Drug use and re-imprisonment: A prospective study of the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) cohort.

Background: Re-imprisonments are common among people in prison who use drugs. This study aims to describe sociodemographic factors, mental health and level of pre-prison substance use in a cohort of people in prison, and to investigate re-imprisonment during follow-up according to their level of pre-prison drug use.

Methods: This was a prospective study using baseline data from the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) cohort ( = 733) recruited in 2013-2014 linked to data from the Norwegian Prison Registry and the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry.

The association of prison security level with mortality after release from prison: a retrospective national cohort study (2000-16).

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.

PriSUD-Nordic-Diagnosing and Treating Substance Use Disorders in the Prison Population: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Background: A large proportion of the prison population experiences substance use disorders (SUDs), which are associated with poor physical and mental health, social marginalization, and economic disadvantage. Despite the global situation characterized by the incarceration of large numbers of people with SUD and the health problems associated with SUD, people in prison are underrepresented in public health research.

Objective: The overall objective of the PriSUD (Diagnosing and Treating Substance Use Disorders in Prison)-Nordic project is to develop new knowledge that will contribute to better mental and physical health, improved quality of life, and better life expectancies among people with SUD in prison.

Are short AUDIT screeners effective in identifying unhealthy drinking of varying severity? A prison population study.

Background: Whether brief versions of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) can be used as graded severity measures is largely unknown. We examined the performance of eight such brief screeners in a prison population, and compared their effectiveness in detecting hazardous drinking, harmful drinking, and possible alcohol dependence as classified by the full ten-item AUDIT.

Methods: The study sample included pre-prison drinkers who participated in the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) study (n = 758).

Desistance from crime following substance use treatment: the role of treatment retention, social network and self-control.

Background: Reductions in crime are often reported following substance use treatment. We explore the relationship between desistance from crime, treatment type, treatment retention and positive changes in known risk factors for crime.

Methods: We used data from the NorComt-study; a longitudinal study of substance users (n = 341) enrolled in comprehensive treatment in Norway (2012-2015).

Opioid maintenance treatment in the Czech Republic, Norway and Denmark: a study protocol of a comparative registry linkage study.

Introduction: Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) varies across settings and between countries. We plan to use data from several nationwide health and population registers to further improve the knowledge base established from earlier studies. Our aim is to study OMT adherence trajectories and to identify factors associated with improved outcomes for OMT patients across the Czech Republic, Norway and Denmark, in order to further improve OMT and our understanding of the key elements of treatment success.

Alcohol Problems among Prisoners: Subgroup Variations, Concurrent Drug Problems, and Treatment Needs.

Background/aims: Alcohol problems in the prison population are understudied, underdetected, and undertreated. Our aims were to identify subgroups of inmates whose pre-prison drinking behavior indicated a high need for alcohol-related interventions, to assess the prevalence of concurrent alcohol and drug problems, and to compare dual-dependent inmates and those who were alcohol-dependent alone with respect to the severity of their drinking problems.

Methods: Data stemmed from the nationwide Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) study.

Large and non-specific somatic disease burdens among ageing, long-term opioid maintenance treatment patients.

Objectives: To describe and explore somatic disease burdens of ageing long-term patients in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT), a unique population emerging in countries offering OMT as a long-term treatment.

Methods: We used data from the Norwegian Cohort of Patient in Opioid Maintenance Treatment and Other Drug Treatment Study (NorComt). 156 patients enrolled for at least three of the past five years provided data during structured interviews, including on chronic conditions, somatic treatment received, mental distress (SCL-25), and treatment satisfaction.

Use of anabolic-androgenic steroids and other substances prior to and during imprisonment - Results from the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) study.

Background: Anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is associated with health problems and substance use. Substance use is common among inmates. This study aims to estimate lifetime and prison use of AAS and other substances, compare characteristics of groups of inmates, and describe factors associated with AAS use in a national prison population.

Factors associated with drug use in prison - results from the Norwegian offender mental health and addiction (NorMA) study.

Background: Remarkably little is known about drug use during imprisonment, including whether it represents a continuation of pre-incarceration drug use, or whether prison is also a setting for drug use initiation. This paper aims to describe drug use among people in prison in Norway and investigate risk factors associated with in-prison drug use.

Methods: We used data from the Norwegian Offender Mental Health and Addiction (NorMA) Study, a cross-sectional survey of 1499 individuals in Norwegian prisons.

From restrictive to more liberal: variations in moratlity among patients in opioid maintenance treament over a 12-year period.

Background: As the effect of opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) on overdose mortality varies both between and within countries, treatment programs need to be evaluated in different treatment settings and over time within settings. We evaluated variations in mortality in a national programme: from the initial rollout as restrictive and low-capacity to its gradual change into more liberal and higher-volume.

Methods: A 12-year prospective longitudinal cohort study including all persons (n = 6871) applying for and entering OMT in Norway (1997-2009).

Measuring the quality of life of incarcerated individuals.

Purpose: Measuring quality of life (QoL) under incarceration can be used to track successful rehabilitation and risk of re-offending. However, few studies have measured QoL among general incarcerated populations, and it is important to use psychometrically strong measures that pose minimal burdens to respondents and administrators. The paper aims to discuss these issues.