CURRENT AND FUTURE WORK
< back to Our work and projects
If you are interested in being updated as our work programme progresses, please click here to sign up for our website updates (you can cancel this at any time).
STIGMA & DRUG USE - WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
Every drug user is someone's daughter or somebody's son, but shame, guilt or fear of being labeled an addict can stop drug users and families seeking help. Previous research has also shown that while support, access to services, jobs and housing are of key importance to sustained recovery sometimes these may be difficult to obtain due to fear, intolerance or misunderstanding on the part of employers, service providers and the general public.
With funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the UK Drug Policy Commission research project is seeking to identify, for the first time, the scale of discrimination and stigma towards drug users through an examination of public attitudes, media reporting and other analysis. This is the first phase of a research project through which the UKDPC hopes to open up new conversations with stakeholders from a range sectors involved with drug users and their families on the impact of stigma and prejudice and how it might be challenged across all sectors and communities.
The project was launched with a seminar held on 11 February 2010 which can be read about here.
To find out more about what UKDPC’s ‘stigma’ project involves read the project outline.
THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY
We have commissioned a group of leading UK academics to consider the impact of an individual’s problem drug use on adult family members. The research, led by Alex Copello, Professor of Addiction Research at the University of Birmingham, will estimate the number of adults affected by problem drug using family members and will attempt to place a ’value’ in financial terms on the support and care they provide and the cost to society of the harm they experience. The review will also identify effective practice, both in terms of how family members can be involved in the treatment and recovery of their relatives, and how their own support needs can be met. The research will be published in mid-2009. For more information, please read the research specification.
DIVERSITY
The UKDPC invites tenders for a number of evidence reviews as part of a programme of research "Understanding the needs and challenges of drug problems for different minority groups". The ITT can be downloaded using the link below and the deadline for submission is 7th September 2009.
The 5 reviews to be commissioned address the following areas:
- Prevalence and patterns of (illicit) drug use within different ethnic groups
- Drug prevention and information provision for different ethnic communities
- The interaction and impact of drug markets and drug-related enforcement activity on different ethnic groups
- The prevalence of drug use, access to and need for services and the impact of enforcement on the LGBT community
- The prevalence of drug use, access to and need for services and any impact of enforcement on disabled people.
Invitation to tender [146KB pdf]OTHER POTENTIAL AREAS OF FOCUS
These may include:
- effective local commissioning of treatment services;
- making criminal justice interventions more effective;
- interventions for vulnerable young people.
