Hannah Carver

Remembering Peter Krykant, Who Knew Harm Reduction Couldn’t Wait It’s been a few months since Peter Krykant’s passing in July, at the age of 48. He hit the global ...

"Drugs are not forbidden because they are dangerous, they are dangerous because they are forbidden,” said Peter Krykant, who "hit the global harm reduction scene with a bang," running an unauthorized overdose prevention site from a van in Glasgow.

People who knew and worked with him pay tribute:

Call for papers for Special Issue: Including lived experience in substance use research think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu...

Understanding the health and well-being impacts and implementation barriers and facilitators of legally-mandated non-custodial drug and alcohol treatment for justice-involved adults: a qualitative evidence synthesis - Health & Justice Background Non-custodial judicial treatment orders aim to reduce recidivism for justice-involved people with drug and/or alcohol use problems, but health and well-being impacts are not understood. We conducted the first qualitative evidence synthesis to explore the perceived impacts on health and well-being of treatment orders and the perceived barriers and facilitators to implementation from the perspectives of justice-involved adults, their family members/significant others, and staff delivering/ mandating the treatment. Design We searched 14 bibliographic databases (31/10/2023-07/11/2023) and conducted supplementary searches to identify qualitative evidence. Two reviewers appraised methodological limitations using CASP and assessed confidence in review findings using GRADE-CERQual. We used framework synthesis to synthesise evidence. We integrated synthesised findings with results of a complementary quantitative review investigating health and well-being effects of treatment orders. Results We synthesised 25 studies (29 reports); 22/29 reports had moderate or high methodological limitations. Most studies (n = 20) focused on USA drug courts; none focused on alcohol interventions. Only three studies had health and well-being as their main focus. No studies involved family members. Only one study reported a theory of how treatment orders might impact health. GRADE-CERQual assessments of 13 findings were high (n = 7/13), moderate (n = 4/13), or low (n = 2/13) confidence. Justice-involved adults perceived treatment orders to reduce mortality/morbidity risk, improve sense of self and coping with emotions, to result in feeling healthier, but also to exacerbate trauma and increase stress. Coerced treatment was perceived to interfere with “therapeutic change,” nonetheless it was often perceived to reduce, cease and/or stabilise illicit drug use. Justice-involved adults’ challenging life circumstances were an important barrier to reducing/ ceasing substance use. Abstinence-based approaches were common but abstinence may be unrealistic. Intervention effectiveness trials rarely measured relational outcomes of importance to justice-involved adults e.g., impacts on their children, or health outcomes. Conclusions High-quality qualitative studies are urgently needed on the health impacts of diverse treatments orders. Treatment orders should emphasise harm-reduction treatment approaches and address participants’ healthcare and social needs. Theories of how treatment orders work are needed. Unintended negative health consequences of treatment orders must be researched. Future trials should measure and report health and relational outcomes. Study protocol registration: [CRD42023484923]. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Evidence Synthesis Programme (Grant: NIHR153425, project number NIHR162046) funded this study.

Colleagues Dr C Connell, Dr R Kjellgren & Dr H Carver are part of a paper exploring perceived impacts on health & well-being of non-custodial mandatory treatment for substance use among justice-involved adults, & perceived barriers & facilitators to treatment. Read here: doi.org/10.1186/s403...

We're looking to appoint a new administrator for our Social Sciences Impact Acceleration Account. This would be a great role for a graduate with good administrative skills who wants to learn a lot more about the non-academic impact of research
www.stir.ac.uk/about/work-a...

The stories from #SeeBeyondScotland show the devastating impact the loss of a life to drugs & alcohol has on the family & friends left behind.

The campaign will be in Scottish Parliament until Thursday. @sacasrstir.bsky.social @scottishfamilies.bsky.social @stir.ac.uk

seebeyondscotland.com

🔊Welcome to our third SHAAP/ @sarnalcohol.bsky.social Alcohol Occasional of 2025.
In today’s seminar, Dr Hannah Carver, Dr Emma King and Jessica Greenhalgh will discuss Scotland's first Managed Alcohol Programme (MAP).

New guidance to help people with poor mental health and substance dependence get out into nature | About | University of Stirling New guidance to help people with poor mental health and substance dependence get out into nature

Colleagues Dr Wendy Masterton & team have created guidance manuals on how to support those with poor mental health and substance dependence through nature-based activities.

Read more here: www.stir.ac.uk/news/2025/08...

🔊Don't miss our next Alcohol Occasional with
@sarnalcohol.bsky.social !

Register now for the upcoming seminar on Scotland's first Managed Alcohol Programme.

12.45 - 2pm, Mon 1 Sep 2025, online

👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alcohol-oc...

📣 Rapid Review by Danilo Falzon is now live!✨

Preventing Substance Use-Related Harms Among Young People in Scotland: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Systems Solutions

Read the review here: buff.ly/Z5qmpte

Spending the morning at the @stir.ac.uk at this great @drnscot.bsky.social event on young people and substance use. A great line up which includes presentations from @sacasrstir.bsky.social former colleagues!

Alcohol Occasional 3: Scotland’s first Managed Alcohol Programme Join us online for our third seminar of the 2025 series, delivered by Dr Emma King, Dr Hannah Carver and Jessica Greenhalgh.

🔊Register now for our upcoming seminar on Scotland's first Managed Alcohol Programme.

12.45 - 2pm, Mon 1 Sep 2025 @sarnalcohol.bsky.social
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alcohol-oc...

Scotland has the highest drug death rate in Europe. What bold action is needed to tackle this crisis - and end the stigma? with Stirling University @audreynicollsnp.bsky.social , Kirsten Horsburgh, @catrionamath.bsky.social and Patricia Tracey

🎟️ Book your tickets now: ow.ly/vgwV50WjB0C #FoP2025

Such a powerful story from one of our See Beyond Scotland participants ❤

JUST PUBLISHED: ACMD report on prevention of drug use by young people in the UK assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6835e4...

Alcohol use during recovery: A 10-year follow-up of people treated for alcohol or other drug problems Understanding challenges in alcohol consumption is crucial when considering recovery approaches beyond abstinence. This study investigates the narratives that people with former alcohol or other dr...

Open access: Alcohol use during recovery: A 10-year follow-up of people treated for alcohol or other drug problems www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Patient satisfaction with long-acting injectable buprenorphine: What needs to be measured from the patient’s perspective? Long-acting injectable buprenorphine is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder. This paper asks: 1. How satisfied are people with long-acting injectable buprenorphine during their first yea...

Open access: Patient satisfaction with long-acting injectable buprenorphine: What needs to be measured from the patient’s perspective? By Jo Neale et al
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A team led by Dr Wendy Masterton are hosting an information sharing webinar on the findings of #research exploring nature-based programmes for people with poor mental health and experience of substance dependence. They'll present 3 new resources.

11am, 28 May.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nature-bas...

So delighted that this paper has been published today (it's been a very long time coming!). We synthesised nine qualitative studies to understand peer workers' experiences and the key components of their role. Now published in BMC Public Health!

University of Edinburgh is leading on a new study exploring the effects of attachment and care experience on intergenerational substance use, and are looking for people with experience of their own or a parent’s substance use, and with care experience.
edinburgh.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Predicting the risk of opioid use disorder in non-cancer chronic pain (Reference: SHLS24133) at Glasgow Caledonian University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Predicting the risk of opioid use disorder in non-cancer chronic pain (Reference: SHLS24133) at Glasgow Caledonian University, listed on FindAPhD.com

Fully-funded #PhD studentship with a great team at Glasgow Caledonian Uni to explore risks of opioid use disorder #OUD in individuals prescribed #opioids for pain relief in Scotland. Analysis of electronic health records to define and identify risk factors for OUD.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

🌟 We’re excited to announce the first speaker for our upcoming event on Mothers and Substance Use — Dr. Miriam Boeri!

📅 22 May 2025
🕘 10:00 - 13:00
📍 Hybrid: Edinburgh or Online

Registration➡️ buff.ly/CQSgQPG
📥 Email mcalnan@ed.ac.uk if there are issues registering on Eventbrite

Do they work though!? (and of course Lakeland have them!)

There's a net bag for duvet covers which mean you don't have to deal with a weird ball of sheets!? Where do I get one!?

Job Vacancy at the University of Hull: Qualitative Researcher in Health Services Research We are seeking an experienced postdoctoral researcher with expertise in qualitative methods and health services research to join a multi-disciplinary team on the DevleoPing an Alcohol Risk rEduction p...

The PARENT project (DevleoPing an Alcohol Risk rEduction pathway with pareNts and health visiTors) is recruiting a Qualitative Researcher in Health Services Research for 12 months, closing 29 April. More information in the link below - please share

jobs.hull.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Want to find out more about our excellent MSc Substance Use programme? Come along to our information session on Friday at 11am.

Hopefully they will be approved soon as the licence applications went in last year!

Privileged to be asked to write a blog for @shaapalcohol.bsky.social on some of my experiences as an ECR and share some early findings from our evaluation of Scotland’s first Managed Alcohol Programme. Happy to be contacted with any questions ☺️