Enhancing Health Among
Drug Users in Prison
Health Equity Studies No. 3

By Anne H. Berman
July 2004
Almqvist & Wiksell
ISBN: 9172658096
206 pages, Illustrated, 6 ¼" x 9 ½"
$75.00 Paper Original


This dissertation is psychology looks at ways of enhancing the health of drug users in prison. A new screening instrument for drug use disorders is presented, and separate prison studies evaluate auricular acupuncture as well as cognitive-behavioral treatment. An approach to treatment of inmates with so-called dual diagnosis - drug use and psychiatric disorders - is also explored in a pilot study of long-term auricular acupuncture.

The empirical results are discussed within the framework of recent findings on offender rehabilitation and treatment for drug use. Based on perspectives of risk management, "good lives" and existential psychology, a new model for enhancing health among drug users in prison is proposed.

Contents include: Enhancing health for drug users in prison - theoretical issues, Offender rehabilitation, Offenders who use drugs, Methodological issues in prison research, Enhancing health for drug users in prison - practical aspects studied, Study I - How do we know an inmate uses drugs?, Study II - Can we offer any low-threshold treatment to drug users in prison?, Study III - Do prison inmates (60% drug users) change following structured psychological treatment?, Study IV - How do we help inmates with special needs?, A Health-enhancement model for approaching drug users in prison, Conclusions, References.

Sociology; Health

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