Governing parental opioid use: a relational ethnography

Lead Research Organisation: University of Stirling
Department Name: Health Sciences

Abstract

WHY DO WE NEED THIS STUDY?
Children and families affected by parental drug use include some of the most disadvantaged families in society. For example, parents often have severe health and social problems, live in poverty, and their children frequently end up in the care system. Parents and families are often stigmatised and excluded from mainstream society and do not always receive the right kind of treatment and family support. These problems can be repeated from one generation to the next. Improving their lives is therefore a key goal for health and social care services as well as for government.

Many countries (including the UK, Australia, USA and Canada) have established ways of working with families affected by parental drug use. However, there is wide variation in these policies and practices. There is little knowledge of how they operate in practice (within and across different agencies) and how they impact on children and families. There is a need to look at how the whole system works from a family perspective.

Our study aims to do this by looking at how parental drug use is managed in practice by interviewing, observing and spending time with parents and families as well as health and social care service providers to understand more about how the system works.

WHAT WILL THE STUDY INVOLVE?
First, we will set up two groups called Learning Alliances: one in Scotland and one in England. A Learning Alliance is a group of people who have knowledge and experience in a particular topic, such as parental drug use. The Learning Alliances will include service users, policymakers and those in charge of managing public services for parents who use drugs and their families. The Learning Alliance will help the research team in all aspects of the project, including planning the research itself, commenting on our findings, and making suggestions about what can be done, in practice and policy, to respond to the findings.

Second, we will employ researchers to spend time with 30 families who have a drug-using mother and/or father, and who agree to take part, 15 in Scotland and 15 in England. The researchers will find out what life is like for them day-to-day over a period of approx. 12-21 months. We will also, with permission, conduct interviews (approx. 90) with family members, children, friends, and other associates of the families to try to get a clearer understanding of their connections with agencies and their wider communities.

Third, the researchers will also spend time in 12 services (approx. 3 months each) and interview staff (approx. 100) who provide care to parents who use drugs. Researchers will take notes about what they see and hear in the services about how drug-using parents are treated and dealt with. The services will include NHS, social work and third sector agencies in a range of different areas.

Lastly, we will review and examine policies about the treatment and management of parents who use drugs to compare how polices differ in different agencies and countries (Scotland/England) and what effects the different policies have on how parents who use drugs and their families are managed and treated.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?
Our study findings will help a range of people and agencies in different ways.

It will benefit parents who use drugs and their families in the future because it will help to show how practices and policies might better meet their needs. It will benefit society more widely as it will provide a better understanding of the everyday lives of parents and their families.

It will also benefit professionals, services and policymakers by offering new understandings about how existing practices and policies may or may not be benefiting the people they seek to help.

It will benefit the international community by showing how policies and practices could be improved for families and it could help academics develop new interventions to help parents who use drugs and their families.

Planned Impact

OUR MAIN BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE:

PARENTS WHO USE OPIOIDS, THEIR CHILDREN, AFFECTED FAMILY MEMBERS (e.g. kinship carers).
This study focuses on relations between parents who use opioids and governmental agencies. It aims to reveal family stories, experiences and insights into what matters to them, how policies and practices affect them, and their visions for the future. We know from clinical experience and the academic literature that parents who use opioids are a stigmatised and marginalised population whose voices and experiences are often delegitimised. This study aims to empower parents and their families by giving them a voice and making their lives more visible and understood. Data generated by the project will highlight parents' perspectives and families will be involved in both the Learning Alliances and arts-based public engagement programme. Involvement in each of these will provide families with platforms for change, advocacy, power-sharing and capacity building through the co-production of study outputs.

By seeking to influence policy and practice as described below our study will impact upon the lives of a much larger population than those who participate directly in the study. We appreciate that there are no mutually exclusive groups - for example, 3rd sector agencies delivering services also seek to influence policy and practice.

PRACTITIONERS/MANAGERS/AGENCIES WHO WORK WITH FAMILIES AFFECTED BY PARENTAL OPIOID USE including statutory organisations (e.g. NHS drug/child health/maternity services, GPs, Children & Families Social Work, Criminal Justice, Family Law,) and 3rd sector agencies (e.g. Addaction, Adfam, Circle, NSPCC).
Our study places an equal emphasis on illuminating the views, experiences and real-life dilemmas and situations faced by frontline practitioners/services who work with families affected by opioid use. This study will give voice to their personal insights and professional understandings of inter-professional, organisational, structural, political and ideological factors, which shape and define their everyday actions and capabilities. This study will highlight the conditions of frontline practitioners/services and will provide them with a means to work collaboratively as change agents with academics, policymakers, commissioners and the people they serve.

POLICYMAKERS AND COMMISSIONERS at a local level (e.g. Alcohol & Drug partnerships, Integrated Joint Boards (Scotland) & national level (e.g. Public Health England, Scottish Government Drug Policy Unit).
This study will contribute to important policy and practice debates about parents who use drugs and how society represents and responds to their needs. These debates happen in multiple arenas so we will showcase our findings and stimulate debate on reform through 'expert events' and stakeholder engagement, policy forums, reports for commissioners and professional bodies, and engagement with the media. Our focus on the social ecology of the field aims to assist policymakers and commissioners to shift the focus from 'drugs', 'drug-using parents' and 'vulnerable children', to wider policies and practices that constitute the problem and responses to it.

ORGANISATIONS THAT INFLUENCE POLICY including professional bodies (e.g. British Psychological Society, British Association of Social Workers, Royal College of Psychiatrists), drug sector organisations (e.g. Collective Voice, Scottish Drugs Forum) & children's charities (e.g. Action for Children, CORRA Foundation).
We recognise the challenges of influencing policy and practice and will actively engage with organisations who have substantial expertise of doing so. These collaborations will provide us with access to their professional networks and their understanding of the most effective strategies for producing change. In return, they will benefit from early access to a substantial research resource which will provide evidence for their interactions with policymakers and the public.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Title Animation (messages from parents, the Relations Study) 
Description This animation was designed by parents who use drugs who were involved in the Relations Study. It challenges a narrow focus on drug use and describes how stigma, surveillance and the need to 'prove' they are a good parent can have a negative effect on families. It shows how a more supportive approach can make a difference. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact This animation is publicly available on the Relations Study website and has been incorporated into a national training module for health and social care staff in Scotland. 
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/arts-based-outputs/
 
Title Family Stories: lessons for practice. 
Description The research team, in collaboration with parents who took part in the study and an arts-based service called 'NiftyFox Creative', developed the 'Family Stories' booklet as a study output. It is made up of composite case studies from the ethnographic data where common themes about experiences of care from a parent and family perspective are illustrated. The 'family stories' include key messages from parents and families about what matters most to them and how professionals and services can best support them. 
Type Of Art Creative Writing 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact The 'Family Stories' booklet has been made publicly available on the dedicated study website (see link below) and it will be included as part of a training module for health and social care staff in Scotland on the NES (National Health Service Education for Scotland) website. This training module will be launched in 2024. 
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/
 
Description KEY FINDINGS

The Relations study aimed to explore the care of parents who use opioids and their families and to consider ways to improve practice, outcomes for families, and relations between and among parents, families, professionals and services.

We used ethnographic methods and included 26 parents (18 mothers, 9 fathers, with 75 children), 10 health and social care services, and 97 professionals from England and Scotland in the study.

The families in the study were very diverse in terms of their drug-taking and family histories, social circumstances, and involvement with health and social care services. Most parents reported complex needs related to childhood trauma, family bereavement and mental health problems, physical health conditions, domestic abuse, criminal justice involvement, family court/child welfare issues, homelessness, unemployment and extreme poverty.

The services and professionals in the study included: Drug Treatment (NHS & Third Sector services), Child Protection and Kinship Care (Social Services), Family Support, Youth Work and Women's services (Third Sector services), Specialist Pregnancy/Postnatal Support (NHS & Social Services), criminal justice, primary care, community pharmacy, child health and maternal health, governmental policymakers and local commissioners.

KEY THEMES

REFRAMING 'THE PROBLEM', REFRAMING 'SOLUTIONS'.

Our findings show that negative assumptions, representations and narrow ways of thinking about the so-called 'problem' produced certain types of responses and not others. This needs to change to open up possibilities for a more strengths-based, holistic and non-stigmatising approach.

One underlying assumption about parents is that drug use is incompatible with being a 'good enough' parent. Parents were viewed as 'risky' and children 'at risk'. In this context, scrutiny and surveillance is the norm, practice is narrowly focused on drug use, and 'assessments' and 'interventions' are primarily designed to produce 'evidence' to either support or refute negative assumptions. Reframing 'the problem' would mean addressing the complex dynamics of family life as part of the care process.

Practice responses and 'solutions' were tied to how 'the problem' was represented and understood. Care (and care plans) tended to focus on individuals, usually parents, mostly mothers. In this context, opportunities to engage with fathers, wider family, peers, and local communities to support families were often ignored. Often what really mattered was overlooked e.g., practical, emotional and material support to enable good parenting and good relationships with children.

Health and social care practice often centred on 'logics of choice', where responsibility was placed on parents for the health and wellbeing of the whole family. This also responsibilised practitioners and services to control and often coerce parents (mostly mothers) to comply with institutional requirements around managing 'risk'. However, this ignored the complex relational dynamics and wider factors that affect families and relations between families and services (e.g., social determinants of health, ethical concerns and power imbalances).

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

SHIFTING POLICY AND PRACTICE TOWARDS A 'LOGIC OF CARE'.

Our findings show that 'good care' for parents who use drugs and their families is underpinned by a set of ethical principles and is more likely to be produced and experienced when
1. support for parenting and child welfare is approached as a shared, collaborative and societal endeavour.
2. a strengths-based, relational and ecological model of care can be provided.
3. wider environmental, family, systemic, and structural factors can be addressed, not just drug use.
4. safe, non-stigmatising and non-discriminatory spaces for parents and children are created.
5. most time and effort is devoted to helping parents be better parents, not proving they are not.
6. professionals and services who work with parents and families have sufficient resources, training, time and support to deliver good quality care.
7. policy and practice guidance is reframed to produce and promote a logic of care that aims to achieve greater health and social justice for marginalised and disadvantaged parents and families.
Exploitation Route The interdisciplinary nature of the study, combined with the use of innovative methods, provides a strong base for wider academic engagement. There are two specific ways in which the findings can be used by other academics. First, by demonstrating the potential of online learning alliance methodology as a mechanism for producing inclusive and impactful research; working alongside those who are often marginalised and stigmatised throughout all stages of the research process as well as policymakers and practitioners. Second, the composite case studies derived from our ethnographic data (presented as 'Family Stories') and our animation on stigma, can be used for training professionals who support parents who use drugs and their families to work towards creating a holistic, strengths-based and non-stigmatising system of care.

Our study aimed to promote non-academic engagement from the outset so our findings will have wide appeal across professions and sectors. Our ambitions for a different model of care is shared among policymakers and practitioners we have engaged with through our Learning Alliance, expert events and practitioner workshops. We have identified a particular role for the study in supporting workforce development initiatives, through training, reflective practice and ongoing professional development in the child welfare and drugs field.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Education

Healthcare

URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/
 
Description NARRATIVE IMPACT SUMMARY The Relations study was designed to intervene in ongoing, often contentious debates about how best to understand and respond to parental drug use, with a focus on improving systems of care and support for the whole family. Over the course of the project, we brought together and engaged with multiple stakeholders to do this via our online learning alliance, 'expert events', blogs, podcasts, webinars, conference presentations, consultation meetings between parents and policymakers, practitioner workshops, and arts-based participatory methods and public engagement activities with parents who took part in the study. Parental drug use affects intersecting fields of policy and practice, for example, adult health and social care, police and criminal justice, maternal and child health, family law, child protection, fostering and adoption, drug rehabilitation, education, housing, and welfare. This includes a multiagency workforce. Since completing the study, Professor Whittaker (PI) has been commissioned to develop a new training module for the health and social care workforce in Scotland via NES (National Health Service Education for Scotland). This will incorporate our study outputs and key findings and a link to our dedicated study website. In addition, three of our international collaborators on the project have implemented plans to extend and disseminate learning from the project through different routes: a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh (Professor Miriam Boeri, USA), interdisciplinary grant development workshops on parental drug use led by the Australian National University (Dr Anna Olsen, Australia) and a funding application to evaluate peer-led addiction family support (Associate Professor Amy Salmon, Canada). Our main activities to maximise impact include: Establishing an online Learning Alliance (LA) for the project, which served as our central 'pathway to impact'. Our LA included multiple stakeholders from the field who were willing to attend regular meetings with the research team for the duration of the project (over 3 years) to engage in meaningful discussions about the care of parents who use drugs and their families. LA members advised on recruitment and data collection and were involved in discussions about the interpretation and implications of the findings. They also guided our impact plan to maximise opportunities to influence policy and practice and to involve different audiences in knowledge translation. We worked collaboratively with LA members to ensure that significant relational tensions between different stakeholders (a key focus of the research), were explored, and alternative approaches were identified. Using a co-production and reflective practice approach we facilitated meaningful debates about current practice to develop new ways of thinking about models of care and new insights around capacity building. Many of the LA members facilitated dissemination and impact events, for example, with professional networks and forums. Convening 'expert events' to engage a wider audience of stakeholders in conversations around change. In June 2023, we convened two online expert events (one for Scotland, one for England) where we presented our preliminary findings to a wider audience. Our Learning Alliance advised on the invitation list which included policymakers, strategic and operational managers, frontline practitioners, and families. These events were live scribed with the participants' permission and the research team facilitated roundtable discussions that focused on innovative responses and solutions to the most challenging issues identified in the study. Ideas and discussions from our expert events informed our final analysis and recommendations. Participants who took part in our expert events also facilitated further tailored routes to maximise impact (e.g. with policy teams, professional bodies, and user groups). Engaging different audiences through social and digital media. We set up a dedicated study website, hosted by the University of Stirling, to widen public access to information on the study and to showcase our outputs. The website includes an animation (developed by parents), a 'family stories' training booklet, and live scribed infographics from our practitioner workshop and expert events. It also includes links to our project blogs, podcasts, webinars and conference presentations. Blog posts on project-related topics were written by research team members. Podcasts included conversations about practice with lead clinicians, service managers and parents with lived experience of drug use. A series of webinars were advertised via twitter and our Learning Alliance members, and our use of social media and our digital platform allowed the research team to disseminate peer-reviewed publications written by research team members on related research in the field. Involving study participants in arts-based public engagement activities and creative outputs. After the research team completed the ethnographic data collection, we invited parent participants to take part in a programme of arts-based public engagement activities to co-produce study outputs over a period of approximately ten months. This creative work aimed to put the stories and voices of the parent participants centre stage and to communicate the study findings to different audiences. We engaged an arts-based agency called 'Niftyfox Creative' to work with the parents and research team to curate the creative outputs. This involve arranging regular online and face-to-face meetings with the parents in different locations in Scotland and England where we facilitated arts-based workshops to co-develop outputs of their choosing. This resulted in an animation and an illustrated 'family stories' booklet. The video animation (4 mins) highlights the lived experience of parents who use drugs and their children and challenges the narrow focus on drug use. The animation was designed for a range of professionals who work with parents who use drugs and their families, as well as families themselves. The animation demonstrates how stigma, surveillance, and the pressure to be good parent negatively impacts the lives of families and what alterative, more supportive, approaches could make a difference. The illustrated 'family stories' booklet (16 pages) highlights the complex needs of families, and the different ways practice can either help or hinder good relations between parents and services and better outcomes for families. The booklet serves as a useful training and educational resource for professional development as it focuses on 'lessons for practice'. The family stories booklet includes illustrations and excerpts from the ethnographic data to tell the story of three families and their involvement with services - a single mum, single dad, and a couple with children. In order to protect the anonymity of participants, the stories are composite case studies, based on the experiences of several different families from across Scotland and England. Influencing policy, practice, and service development. We disseminated the findings and outputs from the study to policymakers, commissioners, strategic and operational service managers and practitioners from health, social services, the third sector and government. Over 250 people attended our 'expert events' and webinars which provided an opportunity to engage in conversations about policy, practice and leverage points within existing systems of care where innovation and transformation were possible. We also invited practitioner participants to take part in a multidisciplinary and multiagency one day 'practitioner workshop' to discuss and develop responses to the study findings. Practitioners focused on ways to challenge the governing of professionals and services who care for parents who use drugs and their families. This workshop was live scribed by NiftyFox who curated an infographic to reflect practitioner views on current constraints and opportunities for delivering a more relational and strengths-based model of care. Lastly, on the request of the Scottish Government child policy unit and with the agreement of parents, the research team facilitated a 'consultation' meeting between a group of study parents and civil servants to discuss their views on government plans and priorities for children and family services (health and social care), with a particular focus on the needs of marginalised families. The views of parents (two mothers, two fathers) who attended this event were fed into a wider government consultation on whether children's services should be part of the proposed National Care Service in Scotland.
First Year Of Impact 2023
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare
Impact Types Policy & public services

 
Description Development of a national training module for Scotland on 'drug use and the family'
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
URL https://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/
 
Description Fulbright U.S. Scholar Scheme
Amount £15,000 (GBP)
Organisation US-UK Fulbright Commission 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2025 
End 07/2025
 
Description Blog: How are we using Learning Alliances in the Relations study? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog on the topic of our study learning alliance and how it is contributing to our public engagement strategy for the project.
Writer: Dr Hannah Carver, Coinvestigator, Relations Study.
Awareness raising of the purpose, role and function of our study learning alliance and how members are contributing to the work of the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/how-are-we-using-learning-alliances-in-the-rel...
 
Description Blog: Neonatal abstinence syndrome: uncertain diagnosis and parent/patient involvement in care 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog to highlight issues related to the care of pregnant women who use drugs whose babies can be affected by NAS.
Writer: Dr Amy Chandler, Coinvestigator, Relations Study.
Awareness raising about babies affected by maternal drug use during pregnancy, a topic relevant to some study participants.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/neonatal-abstinence-syndrome-uncertain-diagnos...
 
Description Blog: Parents who use drugs: whose rights, what rights? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog to highlight the learning from a public engagement webinar on parental rights in the context of drug use and child welfare.
Writer: Dr Emma Wincup, Coinvestigator, Relations Study.
Awareness raising about the complex issues related to human rights and families.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/parents-who-use-drugs-whose-rights-what-rights...
 
Description Blog: Reformulating our research during COVID-19 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Blog talking about the impact of COVID19 on our research study and the use of different methods to engage study participants.
Writer: Dr James Todd, Research Fellow, Relations Study
Awareness raising about remote and digital methods of data collection and the challenges of using these methods with marginalised families.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/reformulating-our-research-during-covid-19/
 
Description Blog: The Independent Review of Children's Social Care - The MacAlister Report 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog to critique a report on the state of child welfare system in England.
Writer: Dr Polly Radcliffe, Coinvestigator, Relations Study.
Awareness raising about the unmet needs of families affected by parental substance use, including kinship carers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/the-independent-review-of-childrens-social-car...
 
Description Blog: What is a Learning Alliance? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog on topic of our public engagement method for the study - a Learning Alliance.
Writer: James Todd, Research Fellow, Relations Study.
Awareness raising of learning alliance methodology and what we are trying to achieve with our study Learning Alliance.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/relations-blog-learning-alliance/
 
Description Blog: Will families affected by drug use continue to be overlooked? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog on the topic of 'hidden harm' in relation to the support needs of families affected by drugs.
Writer: Dr Emma Wincup, Coinvestigator, Relations Study.
Awareness raising of the need for our study and its focus on 'hidden' voices of family members.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/resources/relations-blog/will-families-affected-by-drug-use-continue-to...
 
Description Conference paper, ESSD, 6 Oct 2022. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Oral paper presentation to the European Society for Social Drug Research (ESSD) conference in Vienna, Oct 2022.
Title: Drug testing parents: Findings from UK children's and family social work services
Discussion with audience afterwards.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL http://www.essd-research.eu/conferences.html#
 
Description Conference presentation, DRNS, 26 May 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Conference presentation at the Drugs Research Network Scotland annual conference (online.
Title: Untangling the complexity of practitioner-parent relations: Methodological reflections on reformulating research during COVID-19 around parents who use drugs.
Discussion afterwards with audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://drns.ac.uk/
 
Description Conference presentation, DRNS, 26 May 2022 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Conference presentation at the Drugs Research Network Scotland annual conference (online.
Title: Untangling the complexity of practitioner-parent relations: Methodological reflections on reformulating research during COVID-19 around parents who use drugs.
Discussion afterwards with audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://drns.ac.uk/
 
Description Establishment of a Learning Alliance (PPIE group) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact As part of this research project, we established a PPIE group of multiple stakeholders called a 'Learning Alliance' (LA). LA members will collaborate with the research team for the duration of the three year project to advise on the conduct of the study and to assist with impact activities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020,2021,2022
 
Description Podcast: Accessing drug services during Covid-19 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Podcast interview with Consultant Psychiatrist in Addictions, SLaM, London, talking about the impact of COVID19 on access to drug treatment services.
Presenter: Dr Emily Finch, Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS SLaM, London.
Interviewer: Landon Kuester, Research Fellow, Relations Study.
Awareness raising of drug treatment during the pandemic and the changes that were made to ensure accessibility for parents.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/relations-study/episodes/Accessing-Drug-Services-During-COVI...
 
Description Podcast: Hidden opportunities for families during Covid-19 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Podcast interview with specialist midwife who cares for pregnant women who use drugs.
Presenter: Bethan Gibbs, Midwife
Interviewer: Jan Flaherty, Research Fellow, Relations Study.
Awareness raising about the care needs of pregnant women who use drugs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/relations-study/episodes/Hidden-Opportunities-for-Families-D...
 
Description Podcast: Love makes family in Scotland 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Podcast interview with CEO of the Scottish Families for Alcohol & Drugs (SFAD), talking about the impact of parental drug use on the family.
Presenter: Justina Murray, CEO, SFAD
Interviewer: Landon Kuester, Research Fellow, Relations Study.
Raising awareness of issues relevant to the focus of the study.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/relations-study/episodes/Love-makes-your-family-in-Scotland-...
 
Description Podcast: Mothers who use drugs in America 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Podcast interview with ethnographic researcher from the USA who talked about drug treatment services for mothers who use drugs and the barriers they face.
Presenter: Dr Miriam Boeri, Bentley University, USA.
Interviewer: Landon Kuester, Research Fellow, Relations Study.
Awareness raising about common issues faced by mothers who use drugs across the world.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/relations-study/episodes/Mothers-Who-Use-Drugs-in-America-ed...
 
Description Podcast: Parental drug services in Scotland 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Podcast interview with Consultant Psychiatrist in Addictions, NHS Lothian, Scotland. Discussion about the needs of parents in drug treatment services and the kind of interventions that are helpful.
Presenter: Mike Kehoe, Consultant Psychiatrist
Interviewer: Landon Kuester, Research Fellow, Relations Study.
Raising awareness of the care needs of parents in addiction services.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/relations-study/episodes/Parental-Drug-Services-in-Scotland-...
 
Description Podcast: The orbit of drug services during Covid-19 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Podcast interview with lead practitioner of women's drug service in London, talking about the treatment and care of mothers who use drugs.
Presenter: Ellie Guedella, Social Worker
Interviewer: Dr Polly Radcliffe, Coinvestigator, Relations Study.
Awareness raising about the care needs of women who use drugs in London.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/relations-study/episodes/The-Orbit-of-Drug-Services-During-C...
 
Description Webinar, hosted by the Relations Study team, 01 Dec 2022. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Webinar and public engagement event to focus on topics related to the Relations Study.
Title: CAHMA and The Connection - Jude Byrne Women's Group - A group for women with AOD and Care and Protection involvement.
Presenter: Monica Ruffy, ANU, Australia.
Discussion regarding mothers involved in child protection system.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/events/esrc-relations-study-seminar-series-2022/
 
Description Webinar, hosted by the Relations Study team, 13 May 2022. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Webinar presentation and public engagement event on topic related to the focus of the study.
Title: Parents who use drugs: whose rights, what rights?
Invited presenters/discussants: Amy Chandler, Simon Flacks, Lavinia (service user, mother)
Open discussion on parental rights as a policy and practice issue.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/events/esrc-relations-study-seminar-series-2022/
 
Description Webinar, hosted by the Relations Study team, 19 Oct 2022. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Webinar and public engagement event to focus on topics relevant to the Relations Study.
Title: Using/alone: understanding the role of loved ones in the prevention of unwitnessed overdose in the Fraser East region of British Columbia
Presenter: Amy Salmon, Vancouver, Canada.
Discussion re families affected by drug-related deaths and how families can assist with prevention.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://relations.stir.ac.uk/events/esrc-relations-study-seminar-series-2022/