Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Focus groups
� 6 with Prisoners
� 3 with Prison Staff
� 1 with Voluntary Groups
� 1 with Probation and Welfare Services
� 2 with Health Care Staff
� 2 with prisoners families
Substance abuse
Addiction is continued involvement with a substance or activity
despite ongoing negative consequences,(Donatella 2006 ).
Addiction occurs on a continuum where the behaviours initially
provide pleasure or stability that is beyond the person’s ability to
achieve otherwise. Over time it becomes necessary to engage with
the substance or activity to feel normal. There are three categories
under which use can be defined:
� Drug use
� Drug abuse
� Dependence
Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in Ireland
There is a relatively high rate of drug use in Ireland generally
estimated at 5.6 per thousand of the population, (Moore et al
2004). In 1971 2.4% of people attending Irish Psychiatric Units and
Hospitals were diagnosed with alcoholic disorders, by 2006 this
figure had risen to 4.8%. During the same period of time other
drug disorders had risen from 0.1% to 0.8% (Daly & Walsh 2006 ).
The first Irish drug prevalence household study found that 3% of
the adult population (aged 15-64) reported using cocaine (powder)
in their lifetime. After cannabis (18%), magic mushrooms (4%),
and ecstasy (4%), cocaine was the next most common used illicit
drug (NACD 2003 ).
Substance abuse and prisons
The EMCDDA estimates that at least half of the EU’s 356,000 prison
population has a drug history and many of those entering prison
have a severe drug problem, this issue affects a considerable
number of prisoners. In Ireland, a national census survey in 1999
reported that 52% of prisoners reported a history of opiate use and
43% reported a history of injecting drug use (Allwright at al, 1999).
Imprisonment has been found to impact on an individual’s pattern
of drug use (Dillon, 2001). As many as one in three drug users
inject in prison, some for the first time (O’ Mahony (1997) and
Allwright at al 1999).
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