Drug Prevention and Drug Education

(Funded by the ESRC)

High levels of drug and alcohol related death were an on-going problem across the UK, yet there had been very little research done to investigate the experiences and needs of those bereaved by such deaths. This three year, ESRC funded study addressed this lack of knowledge and aimed to build understanding of substance related bereavement to inform the development and provision of relevant support services.

The study, which involved collaboration with the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath, was carried out in two stages. Phase 1 involved conducting up to 100 qualitative interviews with individuals who had lost a family member or close other to a drug or alcohol related death. Recruitment of interviewees was conducted in two study sites: Scotland and the South West of England, with teams at Stirling and Bath responsible for respective sites. Findings from Phase 1 was used to inform Phase 2, which involved the development of practice guidelines for bereavement support services facilitated through a series of focus groups attended by bereaved individuals and professionals from a range of local and national, addiction and bereavement agencies, organisations and networks. The research team produced a final version of these guidelines, which were disseminated through relevant networks and retained for a future validation and testing stage.

New Guidelines to support people bereaved through alcohol or drugs 

• Information
• Guidelines
• University of Bath project page

ISM Staff: Linda Bauld and Jennifer McKell

Led by University of Bath 

Publications:
Walter T, Ford A, Templeton L, Valentine C and Velleman R (2017). Compassion or stigma? How adults bereaved by alcohol or drugs experience services. Health & Social Care in the Community, 25(6): 1714-1721. doi:10.1111/hsc.12273

Templeton L, Ford A, McKell J, Valentine C, Walter T, Velleman R, Bauld L, Hay G and Hollywood J (2016). Bereavement through substance use: findings from an interview study with adults in England and Scotland. Addiction Research & Theory, 24(5): 341-354. doi:10.3109/16066359.2016.1153632 

Valentine C, Bauld L and Walter T (2016). Bereavement following substance misuse. A disenfranchised grief. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 72(4): 283-301. Doi:10.1177/0030222815625174