Rebecca Foster
rebecca foster

Dr Rebecca Foster

Lecturer

 0131 455 3665

  R.Foster2@napier.ac.uk

   

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.

School

Research Groups

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 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).

 

Filter by

Date


22 results

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

‘It maybe doesn’t seem much, but to me it’s my kingdom’: staff and client experiences of Housing First in Scotland

Journal Article
Miler, J. A., Foster, R., Hnizdilova, K., Murdoch, H., & Parkes, T. (2022)
‘It maybe doesn’t seem much, but to me it’s my kingdom’: 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 ‘state of the art’ 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 ‘state of the art’ 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’ centres

Book Chapter
Foster, R. (2019)
Experiences of families using prison visitors’ 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’ 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., …Foster, 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....

What Works? Collaborative Police and Health interventions for mental health distress

Report
McGeough, E., & Foster, R. (2018)
What Works? Collaborative Police and Health interventions for mental health distress. Scottish Government

Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2016-2017

Report
Foster, R., & Myant, K. (2017)
Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2016-2017. Scottish Government

Religiously aggravated offending in Scotland in 2016-17

Report
Foster, R., & Myant, K. (2017)
Religiously aggravated offending in Scotland in 2016-17. Scottish Government

Exploring 'Betwixt and Between' in a Prison Visitors' Centre and Beyond

Book Chapter
Foster, R. (2017)
Exploring 'Betwixt and Between' in a Prison Visitors' Centre and Beyond. In D. Moran, & A. K. Schliehe (Eds.), Carceral Spatiality: Dialogues between Geography and Criminology (169-198). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56057-5_7
In order to maintain relationships with their loved ones, family members will often spend a great deal of time (as well as expense and emotional labour) visiting their loved o...

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.