Rebecca Foster
rebecca foster

Dr Rebecca Foster

Lecturer

Biography

I joined the School of Applied Sciences as a Lecturer in Criminology in September 2022. I teach and supervise on undergraduate and Masters Criminology programmes. Prior to joining ENU, I worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Stirling, based in the Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research (within Social Sciences). In that role, I was primarily involved in leading and supporting research projects relating to problem substance use. Funders for these projects included the National Institute for Health Research, and the Scottish Government/Drug Deaths Taskforce. Before that, I worked as a social researcher in the Scottish Government in the crime research team.

While my research interests are varied, inequality and marginalisation and the manifestations and experiences of these, are common themes. I am particularly interested in the lived experience of the criminal justice system (especially prison), problem substance use and homelessness. Methodologically, I am particularly interested in qualitative research, creative methods, ethnographic approaches and peer research. I would welcome PhD supervision enquiries in relation to these topics.

I have a PhD in Criminology from the University of Glasgow. I also hold an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and LLB (Hons) (First Class), both from the University of Edinburgh.

Research Areas

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Research Advisory Group member for an external evaluation
  • Research Advisory Group member for an external PGR student

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

 

Grant Reviewer

  • Grant reviewer - European Research Council

 

Reviewing

  • Reviewer for Families, Relationships and Societies
  • Reviewer for Current Issues in Criminal Justice
  • Reviewer for Critical Public Health (Elevate)
  • Reviewer for Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
  • Reviewer for: Criminology and Criminal Justice; Sociology; Journal of Contemporary Ethnography; Drug and Alcohol Review; Gender, Place and Culture. Guest Review Editor, Scottish Journal of Performance (Volume 2, Issue 2, June 2015).

 

Date


26 results

Chronic pain, prescribed opioids and overdose risk: a qualitative exploration of the views of affected individuals and family members

Journal Article
Parkes, T., Foster, R., McAuley, A., Steven, D., Matheson, C., & Baldacchino, A. (in press)
Chronic pain, prescribed opioids and overdose risk: a qualitative exploration of the views of affected individuals and family members. Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy, https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2021.2022100
It has been estimated that chronic non cancer pain (CNCP) affects more than 30% of people worldwide. Correspondingly, prescriptions for individuals experiencing CNCP have incr...

鈥淧PI? That sounds like Payment Protection Insurance鈥: Reflections and learning from a substance use and homelessness study Experts by Experience group

Journal Article
Foster, R., Carver, H., Wallace, J., Dunedin, A., Burridge, S., Foley, P., 鈥arkes, T. (2021)
鈥淧PI? That sounds like Payment Protection Insurance鈥: Reflections and learning from a substance use and homelessness study Experts by Experience group. Research Involvement and Engagement, 7(1), Article 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-021-00324-8
Background Patient and Public Involvement in research is important for citizenship, accountability and transparency, and has the practical benefit of helping to ensure its qua...

Peer Support and Overdose Prevention Responses: A Systematic 鈥楽tate-of-the-Art鈥 Review

Journal Article
Mercer, F., Miler, J. A., Pauly, B., Carver, H., Hn铆zdilov谩, K., Foster, R., & Parkes, T. (2021)
Peer Support and Overdose Prevention Responses: A Systematic 鈥楽tate-of-the-Art鈥 Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), Article 12073. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212073
Overdose prevention for people who use illicit drugs is essential during the current overdose crisis. Peer support is a process whereby individuals with lived or living experi...

Quantifying prescribed high dose opioids in the community and risk of overdose

Journal Article
Schofield, J., Steven, D., Foster, R., Matheson, C., Baldacchino, A., McAuley, A., & Parkes, T. (2021)
Quantifying prescribed high dose opioids in the community and risk of overdose. BMC Public Health, 21(1), Article 1174. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11162-4
Background Opioid prescribing for a range of health issues is increasing globally. The risk of fatal and non-fatal overdose is increased among people prescribed strong opioids...

Getting it right for families affected by imprisonment: Lessons from ten years of research

Report
Barkas, B., Deacon, K., Foster, R., Jardine, C., Primrose, K., & Troy, V. (2021)
Getting it right for families affected by imprisonment: Lessons from ten years of research. Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research

鈥業t maybe doesn鈥檛 seem much, but to me it鈥檚 my kingdom鈥: staff and client experiences of Housing First in Scotland

Journal Article
Miler, J. A., Foster, R., Hnizdilova, K., Murdoch, H., & Parkes, T. (2022)
鈥業t maybe doesn鈥檛 seem much, but to me it鈥檚 my kingdom鈥: staff and client experiences of Housing First in Scotland. Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy, 29(3), 231-244. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2021.1926429
Housing First (HF) represents a significant shift in the way that the problem of homelessness and co-occuring challenges including problem substance use, is addressed. HF inte...

Provision of peer support at the intersection of homelessness and problem substance use services: a systematic 鈥榮tate of the art鈥 review

Journal Article
Miler, J. A., Carver, H., Foster, R., & Parkes, T. (2020)
Provision of peer support at the intersection of homelessness and problem substance use services: a systematic 鈥榮tate of the art鈥 review. BMC Public Health, 20(1), Article 641. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8407-4
Background Peer support refers to a process whereby individuals with lived experience of a particular phenomenon provide support to others by explicitly drawing on their perso...

Experiences of families using prison visitors鈥 centres

Book Chapter
Foster, R. (2019)
Experiences of families using prison visitors鈥 centres. In M. Hutton, & D. Moran (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Prison and the Family (251-272). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12744-2_13
Prison visitors鈥 centres are unique spaces, typically distinct from the prisons they are connected to; they are the areas where families wait prior to entering the prison wher...

Supporting Harm Reduction through Peer Support (SHARPS): testing the feasibility and acceptability of a peer-delivered, relational intervention for people with problem substance use who are homeless, to improve health outcomes, quality of life and social functioning and reduce harms: study protocol

Journal Article
Parkes, T., Matheson, C., Carver, H., Budd, J., Liddell, D., Wallace, J., 鈥oster, R. (2019)
Supporting Harm Reduction through Peer Support (SHARPS): testing the feasibility and acceptability of a peer-delivered, relational intervention for people with problem substance use who are homeless, to improve health outcomes, quality of life and social functioning and reduce harms: study protocol. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 5(1), Article 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-019-0447-0
Background While people who are homeless often experience poor mental and physical health and problem substance use, getting access to appropriate services can be challenging....

The research perspective on knife crime and knife carrying

Other
Foster, R. (2018)
The research perspective on knife crime and knife carrying
Blog post summarising the key findings from a literature review I authored, and published with the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. The literature review was co...

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • Getting it right for families affected by imprisonment: Lessons from ten years of research briefing paper funding. SCCJR Development Fund (Award: 拢250). Co-Investigator.
  • (2020-2021). Perceptions and attitudes of strategic decision-makers and affected families across Scotland towards Drug Consumption Rooms to prevent drug-related deaths. Scottish Government/Drug Deaths Taskforce (Award: 拢37,300). Primary Investigator.
  • (2020-2022). Feasibility and acceptability of an overdose prevention intervention delivered by Community Pharmacies for patients prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. Scottish Government/Drug Deaths Taskforce (Award: 拢59,690). Primary investigator until July 2021.
  • (2019-2021). Exploring the Potential of Buvidal in Vulnerable People who Use Drugs and Are Homeless. Camurus AB (Award: 拢38,000). Co-Investigator.
  • (2019-2021). Assessing prescription opioid overdose risk (POOR) via a quality improvement process led by NHS Fife Pharmacy and scoping the feasibility of a specific overdose prevention intervention delivered by Community Pharmacists. NHS Fife (Award: 拢30,000). Co-investigator.