Background: Addressing alcohol harm in prisons can potentially reduce the risk of re-offending, and costs to society, whilst tackling health inequalities. Health savings of £4.3 m and crime savings of £100 m per year can be a result of appropriate alcohol interventions. Prison therefore offers an opportunity for the identification, response and/or referral to treatment for those male remand prisoners who are consuming alcohol above recommended levels. There is however, limited evidence for the effectiveness, optimum timing of delivery, recommended length, content, implementation and economic benefit of Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABI) in the prison setting for male remand prisoners. As part of the PRISM-A study, we aimed to explore the 'elements' of an acceptable ABI for delivery, experiences of engagement with services/health professionals about alcohol use, alongside barriers and facilitators to implementation within the prison setting for male remand prisoners. Materials and methods: Twenty-four in-depth interviews were conducted with adult male remand prisoners at one Scottish prison (n = 12) and one English prison (n = 12). A focus group at each of the prison sites was held with key stakeholders (e.g. prison nurses, prison officers, voluntary alcohol/addiction services, health service managers and commissioners). Thematic analysis techniques utilizing NViVo 10 were employed. Results: A thematic content analysis of the interviews consistently highlighted that the majority of prisoners reflected about the connection between alcohol consumption and criminal offending, particularly in relation to offenses involving physical assaults. They also expressed motivation to change their alcohol consumption. Both prisoner interviews and focus groups with stakeholders (N = 2), indicated the value of continuous follow-up support outside of the prison system and also the need to address the lack of stable social environments, which is often associated with alcohol and drug consumption. Stakeholders further identified organizational barriers to the delivery of ABI, such as limited funding and manageable workloads. Conclusions: The importance of interpersonal trust indicated that intervention delivery by external organizations and nurses were favored in comparison to intervention delivery by prison staff and peer-prisoners. A2 Does perceived risk of harm mediate the effects of a primary care alcohol screening and brief advice intervention for adolescents?

The issue of a disparity between restorative justice theory and restorative practices has been widely examined. Daly (2002:55-79) argues gaps are to be expected because there is a lack of understanding around what restorative justice is. This research uses qualitative data from four focus groups and ten interviews (n=41) to examine police officer's understandings of what restorative justice is, and equally as important, what it is not. Overall findings suggest a continuum of understanding exists across a police force with higher ranking officers expressing more nuanced understanding of the theoretical concepts, key values, and fundamental beliefs of restorative justice than frontline practitioners who were more concerned with the practical aspects of how to 'do it'. This paper will argue that the role of police culture cannot be ignored and that gaps between theory and practice will continue unless the practical considerations in relation to restorative justice are addressed.

BackgroundThe evidence base to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of alcohol brief interventions (ABI) is weakened by variation in the outcomes measured and by inconsistent reporting. The ‘Outcome Reporting in Brief Intervention Trials: Alcohol’ (ORBITAL) project aims to develop a core outcome set (COS) and reporting guidance for its use in future trials of ABI in a range of settings.Methods/designAn international Special Interest Group was convened through INEBRIA (International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol and Other Drugs) to inform the development of a COS for trials of ABI. ORBITAL will incorporate a systematic review to map outcomes used in efficacy and effectiveness trials of ABI and their measurement properties, using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) criteria. This will support a multi-round Delphi study to prioritise outcomes. Delphi panellists will be drawn from a range of settings and stakeholder groups, and the Delphi study will also be used to determine if a single COS is relevant for all settings. A consensus meeting with key stakeholder representation will determine the final COS and associated guidance for its use in trials of ABI.DiscussionORBITAL will develop a COS for alcohol screening and brief intervention trials, with outcomes stratified into domains and guidance on outcome measurement instruments. The standardisation of ABI outcomes and their measurement will support the ongoing development of ABI studies and a systematic synthesis of emerging research findings. We will track the extent to which the COS delivers on this promise through an exploration of the use of the guidance in the decade following COS publication.

Results show that interventions in the prison setting have the potential to positively impact on alcohol use; however, because of small numbers and the use of different outcome measures we could not conduct a meta-analysis or generalise findings. Future studies are needed to standardise approaches to ensure greater rigour and efficacy.