Research on sex in prison during the late 1980s and early 1990s was relatively rare in the published literature, despite important policy and practice considerations that provided a clear need for better understandings of such issues. The research that did appear during the period focused on one or two dominant themes and almost always focused on male inmates: consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and efforts to document the incidence of sex among inmates. The marginality of such research is also seen in the fact that most prison sex research in the period was produced by young scholars and individuals at small or nonacademic institutions. The need for more and broader scope research on prison sex is discussed.

BackgroundAs well as facilitating patients’ wish to die at home, evaluating quality of care in this setting is essential. Postbereavement surveys with family members represent one assessment method. ‘Care Of the Dying Evaluation’ (CODE) is a 40-item self-completion postbereavement questionnaire, based on the key components of best practice for care of the dying.AimTo assess the validity and reliability of CODE by conducting: cognitive ‘think aloud’ interviews; test–retest analysis; and assessing internal consistency and construct validity of three key composite scales.DesignPostbereavement survey to next-of-kin (NOK).Setting/participants291 NOK to patients who died at home in Northwest England from an advanced incurable illness were invited to complete the CODE questionnaire. Additionally, potential participants were asked to undertake a cognitive interview and/or complete CODE for a second time a month later.Results72 bereaved relatives (24.7% response rate) returned the completed CODE questionnaire, and 25 completed CODE for a second time. 15 cognitive interviews were undertaken. All interviewees found CODE sensitively worded and easy to understand. Minor revisions were suggested to provide additional clarity. Test–retest analysis showed all except one question had moderate or good stability. Although the ENVIRONMENT scale was not as relevant within the home setting, all three key composite scales showed good internal consistency and construct validity.Conclusions‘CODE’ represents a user-friendly, comprehensive outcome measure for care of the dying and has been found to be valid and reliable. CODE could potentially be used to benchmark individual organisations and identify areas for improvement.

Background: Transition to postgraduate study has received little attention and it is often assumed that little adjustment is needed. Focus: This article focuses on the academic writing aspect of the transition to postgraduate study for counselling and psychotherapy students on a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)‐accredited course. Method: A two‐year formative evaluation was used to elicit students' views on how they experienced the transition to postgraduate study, and to identify what was most and least helpful to students in managing this transition. Results: The findings showed that there was a significant transition, which 63% of students found difficult. Timetabled and integrated, subject specific, academic support is recommended to assist students with their learning needs.

Little is known about the quality of the end-of-life care patients receive at home. This paper reports findings from a study that explored bereaved relatives' and carers' experiences of end-of-life care at home using the Care of the Dying Evaluation (CODE) questionnaire. Narrative data from questionnaires completed by 72 carers of patients who had died at home in the North West of England underwent qualitative analysis. In general good quality care was provided, but there were times when adequate support was not evident in relation to pain control and what to expect when death was imminent. The study provides useful information for those who provide end-of-life care at home.

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