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

Longer sentences? Overcrowded UK prisons are already failing society

Digital Artefact
Foster, R., & Anderson, K. (2023)
Longer sentences? Overcrowded UK prisons are already failing society. [Magazine]

Drugs (SCCJR Learning Resource accompanying video)

Digital Artefact
Foster, R. (2023)
Drugs (SCCJR Learning Resource accompanying video). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0cYCWQ4oBs]
This video accompanies a learning resource titled 'Drugs', as part of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research's learning resource suite for Modern Studies learners ...

Ask the Criminologists: Webinar for Modern Studies teachers

Digital Artefact
Mabon, K., Gumulinska, I., Clayton, E., Morrison, K., Graham, H., & Foster (PI), R. (2023)
Ask the Criminologists: Webinar for Modern Studies teachers. [YouTube video]
Webinar content prepared and recorded by our SCCJR project team for Modern Studies teachers in Scotland. We invited questions from Modern Studies teachers across Scotland and ...

YouTube: Modern Studies learners webinar

Digital Artefact
Mabon, K., Gumulinska, I., Clayton, E., Morrison, K., Graham, H., & Foster, R. (2023)
YouTube: Modern Studies learners webinar. [YouTube video]
Webinar content prepared and recorded by our SCCJR project team for Modern Studies learners in Scotland. We invited questions from Modern Studies learners across Scotland and ...

Patient, family members and community pharmacists' views of a proposed overdose prevention intervention delivered in community pharmacies for patients prescribed high‐strength opioids for chronic non‐cancer pain: An explorative intervention development study

Journal Article
Mercer, F., Parkes, T., Foster, R., Steven, D., McAuley, A., Baldacchino, A., …Matheson, C. (in press)
Patient, family members and community pharmacists' views of a proposed overdose prevention intervention delivered in community pharmacies for patients prescribed high‐strength opioids for chronic non‐cancer pain: An explorative intervention development study. Drug and Alcohol Review, https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13554
Introduction Despite opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) having limited therapeutic benefits, recent evidence indicates significant increases in the prescrib...

‘Why would we not want to keep everybody safe?’ The views of family members of people who use drugs on the implementation of drug consumption rooms in Scotland

Journal Article
Parkes, T., Price, T., Foster, R., Trayner, K. M. A., Sumnall, H. R., Livingston, W., …Nicholls, J. (2022)
‘Why would we not want to keep everybody safe?’ The views of family members of people who use drugs on the implementation of drug consumption rooms in Scotland. Harm Reduction Journal, 19(1), Article 99. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00679-5
Background People who use drugs in Scotland are currently experiencing disproportionately high rates of drug-related deaths. Drug consumption rooms (DCRs) are harm reduction s...

Drug Consumption Rooms and Public Health Policy: Perspectives of Scottish Strategic Decision-Makers

Journal Article
Nicholls, J., Livingston, W., Perkins, A., Cairns, B., Foster, R., Trayner, K. M. A., …Parkes, T. (2022)
Drug Consumption Rooms and Public Health Policy: Perspectives of Scottish Strategic Decision-Makers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), Article 6575. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116575
There is widespread support for the introduction of Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) in Scotland as part of a policy response to record levels of drug-related harm. However, exis...

Long-acting depot buprenorphine in people who are homeless: Views and experiences

Journal Article
Matheson, C., Foster, R., Schofield, J., & Browne, T. (2022)
Long-acting depot buprenorphine in people who are homeless: Views and experiences. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 139, Article 108781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108781
Introduction People experiencing homelessness often experience intersecting mental and physical health problems, alongside problem substance use and a range of overlapping cha...

A peer-delivered intervention to reduce harm and improve the well-being of homeless people with problem substance use: the SHARPS feasibility mixed-methods study

Journal Article
Parkes, T., Matheson, C., Carver, H., Foster, R., Budd, J., Liddell, D., …MacLennan, G. (2022)
A peer-delivered intervention to reduce harm and improve the well-being of homeless people with problem substance use: the SHARPS feasibility mixed-methods study. Health Technology Assessment, 26(14), 1-128. https://doi.org/10.3310/wvvl4786
Background For people experiencing homelessness and problem substance use, access to appropriate services can be challenging. There is evidence that development of trusting re...

Assessing the feasibility, acceptability and accessibility of a peer-delivered intervention to reduce harm and improve the well-being of people who experience homelessness with problem substance use: the SHARPS study

Journal Article
Parkes, T., Matheson, C., Carver, H., Foster, R., Budd, J., Liddell, D., …MacLennan, G. (2022)
Assessing the feasibility, acceptability and accessibility of a peer-delivered intervention to reduce harm and improve the well-being of people who experience homelessness with problem substance use: the SHARPS study. Harm Reduction Journal, 19(1), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00582-5
Background For people experiencing homelessness and problem substance use, access to appropriate services can be challenging. There is evidence that the development of trustin...

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: £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: £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: £59,690). Primary investigator until July 2021.
  • (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: £30,000). Co-investigator.
  • (2019-2021). Exploring the Potential of Buvidal in Vulnerable People who Use Drugs and Are Homeless. Camurus AB (Award: £38,000). Co-Investigator.