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Our PhD projects

 
About half of the Norwegian prison population has challenges with substance use, often in combination with mental health problems and social challenges. Although the inmates have the right to the same treatment as they do outside prison, there is reason to believe that the substance use and addiction treatment offered in prisons differs from the treatment outside prison. This applies to both access and the content of the treatment. We know little about how substance use and addiction problems are identified among the prison population, if those with problems are offered treatment, or how the treatment affects the inmates after release from prison.
 
Method/design
The project uses quantitative data from the Norwegian Mental Health and Addiction study (NorMA), the prison register KOMPIS and the Norwegian patient register. The NorMA cohort consists of 733 individuals who were in prison in 2013-2014 and who answered a large questionnaire about their background, substance use and general health. The cohort and register data combined make it possible to study the inmates with substance use and addiction disorders in a lifetime perspective. Among other things, we can look at all sentences they have had and look at the use of health services before, during and after the sentence.
 
The study is part of the PriSUD project​.​

 
 
Co-subervisor:
Lars Westlye, Professor at the University of Oslo. 
 
Background
Use of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) has increased in recent years, posing a significant threat to public health via somatic and psychiatric consequences, including increased risk of cardiac problems, aggression, and higher crime rates. While these substances are not considered addictive in the same way as psychoactive substances, many users appear to become dependent. This project aims to identify patterns and traits, both psychiatric and biological, which may indicate vulnerability for the development of AAS dependency.
 
Method/design
Longitudinal and cross-sectional measurements of psychiatric symptoms, personality traits, as well as biomarkers and neuroimaging techniques will be used to identify both the consequences of long-term use and potential mechanisms for dependency development. The project will initiate by identifying profiles of dependency, and progress to identify biological and psychiatric associations with these groups. The results of this project will be relevant not only for the AAS-user population, but will likely have relevance for several broader populations including next-of-kin, non-AAS-using weightlifters, and clinicians in the addiction and dependence field.​
 
The PhD-project is part of the Anabolic steroids and effects on brain and behavior​ project.

 

 
 
Co-supervisors:
Anders Jørgensen, UIO 
Sudan Neupane, Researcher OUH 
Astrid Bjørnebekk, Researcher OUH.
 
Background
The use of anabolic steroids can cause serious health problems such as disturbances in the sex hormones axis, where the body’s own testosterone production is reduced or stopped indefinitely. The symptoms of low testosterone levels can last from months to years: including severe fatigue, depression, sleep problems and reduced sexual function. Many choose to continue with steroids to avoid these ailments, despite the fact that they really want to stop using. This can cause an increased health risk. Today, steroid addicted users are offered treatment and follow-up in TSB (Interdisciplinary specialized treatment of addiction disorders), but there has never been research into whether hormone therapy should be part of the treatment.
 
Method/design
This is a longitudinal intervention study where a group of steroid-addicted men will receive off-label treatment with the drug clomiphene (antiestrogen) to try to stimulate the body’s own production of testosterone after steroid use has ended. They will be compared with participants in another ongoing study of men who end their steroid use without such treatment. We will investigate whether the hormone therapy produces fewer signs of testosterone deficiency compared to ending without it. We will also look at the physical - and mental state of health before, during and after the treatment to assess how the state of health changes over time, up to 12 months after the end of steroid use. 
 

PhD candidate:
Erlend M. Aas, MS Sociology

Main Supervisor:
Eline Borger Rognli, Researcher OUH

Co-supervisiors:
Ingrid Amalia Havnes, Reseracher OUH
Silje Endresen Reme, Professor UIO.

Background
Many people with substance use and addiction disorders experience that the transition to a drug free everyday life is demanding. Loneliness and boredom are cited as the most common reasons for a relapse into substance use. Work is associated with better outcomes of substance use treatment and fewer relapses. Nevertheless, around 80-90 % of patients in substance use and addiction treatment are out of work, and evidence-based employment support methods are lacking in the addiction field.
 
IPS is an evidence-based employment support method developed for patients with severe mental illnesses, and has very good results. The PhD project explores whether one can take this method developed for one patient group and apply it to another patient group without significant changes, or if the IPS method needs adjustments to be better adapted to patients with substance use and addiction disorders.
 
Method/design
The PhD project is part of the research project Hooked on Work. The PhD candidate carries out a qualitative study where interviews are conducted with patients who receive IPS, IPS employment specialists and clinicians who collaborate with the Hooked on Work project. The analyses of the interviews are carried out in an interdisciplinary analysis group with Thematic Analysis as the leading method. In addition to that, the candidate will carry out a quantitative study where the aim is to investigate and compare key characteristics between patients with substance use and addiction disorders and patients with severe mental illnesses who apply for IPS.

Kristoffer A. A.  Andersen, Cand.Psychol/ MSc Psychology

Main Supervisor:
Ph.D Eline Borger Rognli, Researcher, RusForsk – OUS

Co-Supervisor:
Marianne Riksheim Stavseth, Reseacher, Rusforsk - OUS,
Ph.D Espen Ajo Arnevik,Head or project board, Rusforsk/UiO

Background: 

The multi-method project “Hooked on Work” is based on data from two large trials: One randomized controlled trial (IPS-SUD Trial) which started in 2021; And an observational study conducted in 2020. The target group are Norwegian SUD patients currently undergoing out- and in-patient drug treatment. Helping SUD patients achieve a better quality of life by enabling them take part in more stable social groups and obtain paid employment is a treatment goal in which many patients strive for, however SUD is associated with high rates of unemployment, ranging from 80-91%. This project wants to assess whether the vocational method “Individual placement and support” (IPS), which have good effect in patients with moderate to severe mental disorder, will be effective in helping SUD patients reach their goal of paid employment and better quality of life.

Methods and design:

The efficacy of IPS for SUD patients will be investigated through the IPS-SUD trial. In this trial 200 SUD patients was randomized to receive IPS or TAU. The group was followed-up for 18 months. The main outcome is whether they have achieved one day of paid work. Secondary outcomes are related to Employment related outcomes (total time worked, time to obtain first job, duration, number of jobs) and Non employment-related outcomes (Psychiatric distress, drug use, quality of life).

The observational study is an assessment of the applicability of the method in Norwegian healthcare setting for the SUD population. The target group is SUD-patients at Oslo municipal addiction outpatient clinic, Haugenstua resource center and the Tyrili Foundation. In addition, data from the IPS-SUD Trial Intervention group will be combined with data from the observational IPS study and then analyzed for potential variables which may predict or moderate employment and health-related outcomes.

PhD candidate:
Vegard Haukland, MS, Sociology

Main Supervisor:
Ph.D Rune Ellefssen, Researcher, RusForsk - OUS

Co-Supervisor:
Professor Sveinung Sandberg, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, UiO

Background:

The 5-year long trial period of Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) started in January of 2022. It is an intense form of treatment where people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) meet up twice a day at a clinic to receive medical grade heroin (diacetylmorphine). The target group is people with long-term OUD who up until this point has not benefitted from traditional opioid addiction treatment. The shift from daily use of illegal street heroin to receiving heroin as medicine brings with it a new set of labels, from “drug addict” to “patient”. The project seeks to investigate if being in HAT has an impact of the patients self-identity and sense of stigmatization, and how these mechanisms works from an institutional level. The project also aims to describe how the patients experience the treatment in general, and how it affects their everyday life.

Methods and design:

The project has an qualitative longitudinal design. 10 to 15 newly enrolled HAT patients will be recruited and interviewed separately at three separate instances over the course of 18 months. 10 to 15 staff members will also be interviewed over the same time span. Around 300 hours of ethnographic field observations will be conducted in the two clinics (Oslo and Bergen). The data will be coded with the involvement from the user-organization ProLAR-nett. As a method for analysis, three separate dimensions of HAT will be described and investigated in three separate articles; the relational dimension, the medical dimension and the structural dimension.

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Sist oppdatert 08.01.2024