Hit and miss: exploring the health and service needs of ex-prisoners with a history of injecting drug use

• Reach:

  VIC

• Focus area:

  Mainstream

• Status:

  Current

• Evaluated:

  No

Overview

The Hit and miss: exploring the health and service needs of ex-prisoners with a history of injecting drug use project is a research project undertaken by the Justice Health Working Group at the Burnet Institute. This project provides a comprehensive examination of the health service needs of post-release prisoners with a history of injecting drug use in Victoria. The project also examines risk behaviours (in particular those associated with blood-borne virus transmission) among this group, and seek to identify areas where the service system does not meet the actual and/or perceived needs of this group during a particularly vulnerable period.

The project will investigate the barriers and enablers linking people with a history of injecting drugs to health services during the immediate post-prison release period. The project also includes a systematic review of research examining hepatitis C virus transmission and service utilisation by post-release prisoners, in addition to a mapping exercise of services available to Victorian prisoners.

Abstract adapted from Justice Health Working Group (Burnet Institute)

Contacts

Doctor Mark A Stoove
Senior Research Fellow, Head of HIV, AIDS and STI Research, Centre for Population Health
Ph: (03) 8506 2301
Email: stoove@burnet.edu.au

Links

• View information: Hit and miss: exploring the health and service needs of ex-prisoners with a history of injecting drug use
• View website: Justice Health Working Group (Burnet Institute)