Freelance Researcher based in Rainham, UK.
Pharmacist based in Liverpool, UK.
Int J Prison Health (2024). 2024 May 29;20(2):143-155. doi: 10.1108/IJOPH-05-2023-0025.
The purpose of this paper is to examine lived experiences of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) during and immediately following release from detention in prisons in England and Scotland.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Surveys were completed by serving prisoners in both countries and by those recently released from prison (England only). The survey findings were discussed in focus groups of people with lived experience. The combined findings from the surveys and focus groups were shared with an expert group of prison OAT providers and people with lived experience with the purpose of making recommendations for more accessible and effective OAT in custodial environments and continuity of OAT on release.
The quality and accessibility of OAT varied considerably between establishments. It was reported to be harder to access OAT in Scottish prisons. It was often hard for people in prison to get the dosage of OAT they felt they needed and it was generally harder to access buprenorphine than methadone in English prisons. Only Scottish people in prison were aware of long-lasting forms of buprenorphine. People in English prisons had mixed experiences of the help available in prison, with no improvement recorded since a 2016 study. People in Scottish prisons were more likely to rate the help available as poor.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The number of people accessed while actually in prison (73) was reduced by the impact of the pandemic, making it more difficult to access people in prison and because some were resistant to participating on the basis that they had already been consulted for a wide variety of research projects focused on the impact of COVID. The Scottish cohort (a total of 19 individuals comprising 14 survey respondents and five focus group members) is clearly too small a number on which to base robust claims about differences in OAT provision between the English and Scottish prison systems..
The study identifies key barriers to accessing OAT in prisons and suggests key components of more user-friendly approaches.
This study provides an overview of the recent lived experiences of people accessing OAT in prison and on release and offers valuable recommendations on how to make service provision more effective and consistent.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study provides an overview of the recent lived experiences of people accessing OAT in prison and on release in England and Scotland and offers valuable recommendations on how to make service provision more effective and consistent.
本文旨在探讨英格兰和苏格兰监狱服刑和刑满释放期间阿片类激动剂治疗（OAT）的真实体验。
设计/方法/途径：在两国服刑的囚犯和刚出狱的囚犯（仅在英格兰）填写了调查问卷。调查结果在有实际经验的焦点小组中进行了讨论。调查和焦点小组的综合结果与监狱 OAT 提供者和有实际经验的人员的专家组进行了分享，目的是为更易获得和更有效的监禁环境中的 OAT 以及释放后的 OAT 连续性提出建议。
机构之间 OAT 的质量和可及性差异很大。据报道，苏格兰监狱的 OAT 更难获得。囚犯往往难以获得他们认为自己所需的 OAT 剂量，而且在英国监狱中，通常更难获得丁丙诺啡而不是美沙酮。只有苏格兰监狱中的囚犯知道丁丙诺啡的长效形式。英国监狱中的囚犯对监狱中提供的帮助有不同的体验，自 2016 年的一项研究以来，没有任何改善记录。苏格兰监狱中的囚犯更有可能认为所提供的帮助很差。
研究局限性/影响：由于疫情的影响，实际在狱人数（73 人）减少，这使得在监狱中接触到更多的人变得更加困难，而且由于一些人因为已经参与了各种专注于 COVID 影响的研究项目而不愿意参与，所以能够获得的人数进一步减少。苏格兰队列（总共 19 人，包括 14 名调查受访者和 5 名焦点小组成员）的人数显然太少，无法对英格兰和苏格兰监狱系统中 OAT 供应的差异做出可靠的结论。
该研究确定了在监狱中获得 OAT 的主要障碍，并提出了更便于用户使用的方法的关键组成部分。
本研究概述了最近在英格兰和苏格兰监狱中接受 OAT 治疗的患者的真实体验，并就如何使服务提供更加有效和一致提出了宝贵建议。
原创性/价值：本研究概述了最近在英格兰和苏格兰监狱中接受 OAT 治疗的患者的真实体验，并就如何使服务提供更加有效和一致提出了宝贵建议。
